Khamzat Chimaev became a member of an extreme elite group hunters with its UFC Middleweight Title profit last Saturday.
On Saturday, the Premier promotion returned to Chicago for UFC 319 for the first time in six years, led by a middleweight title fight between Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev.
In what was one of the most long -awaited fights of the year so far, Chimaev du Plessis completely dominated and became the new king of the 185LB division.
And only a few hours away from his title -winning performance, 'Borz' may have already drawn up his first title defense, hoping to return to UFC 321 in October.
Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty images
Sean O'Malley tells Chimaev to go to light weight
During his UFC official period, the reputation of the Chechen took a hit somewhat because of constant problems with his health, which led to him not locking one division.
Nevertheless, he came in for the UFC 319 Main Event on 183 pounds, 2 pounds lighter than he needed, which may present how well his new Vechtkamp went.
And although he only won the title on 185 pounds and looks as if he could build the inheritance in the division, he was told to go to 205 pounds by former Bantam weight champion Sean O'Malley.
“We just knew it was a matter of time before that guy was champion,” said O'Malley in a video on his YouTube channel.
“So what makes sense for khamzat chimaev? Does it make sense for him to fight at 185lbs again or is he just too dominant? Could Be Interesting, Maybe, Purely On How Big Ankalaev is.
“I don't think there is anything to break down against Sean Strickland, even Izzy (Adesanya) as much as I f— Love Izzy, (Nassourdine) Imavov, they are all striking guy. You have to fit that skill of wrestling, he did not do that on the ground.
“What a freak of nature. That is years of hard work,” O'Malley continued.
How would Chimaev the light heavyweight?
Before he won the title of the middleweight, 'Borz' made it clear that he wants to be the first hunter in the UFC history who won a title in three weight classes, after he had previously fought on good weight.
Although that would demonstrably be one of the greatest achievements in the history of sport, it is unlikely that Chimaev will return to 170 pounds.
However, there is absolutely potential that he goes up to light heavyweight, especially if Alex Pereira recovers his title on UFC 320, because Chimaev's fighting style would be a nightmare for the Brazilian striker.