Max Holloway saw one of his impressive UFC records slip away while Khamzat Chimaev Drica du Persis surpassed.
Against most predictions, the UFC 319 Main Event was 25 minutes unilateral, with Chimaev du Plessis completely dominating from start to finish to secure all three scorecards.
The newly crowned UFC champion middleweight has become known for its fast starts and brutal finishes in the UFC, including Chief, the crushing submission of Chimaev against Robert Whittaker in 2024 to earn his opportunity in Chicago last Saturday.
But 'Borz' used a different approach to leave the 'Windy City' with the 185-pound gold in his possession, instead, he smothered du Plessis on the floor for five rounds without pushing too hard for a finish.
Fans left that unhappy, but the length of the Main Event of UFC 319 left a legend and feared that he would lose more than one record …
Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC
Max Holloway thought that Khamzat Chimaev would break his important battle record on UFC 319
BMF champion and featherweight goat candidate Max Holloway collected countless records during his memorable career, of which he claims in demonstrably the most one-sided Beatdown of the UFC of all time.
Holloway Battered Calvin Kattar in 2021, with his face like a boxing bag for five rounds. Towards the end of the fight, 'Blessed' 445 had landed important strikes – a UFC record that has been to this day.
But while Chimaev elbows and bumps rained on Du Plessis in the clumsy crucifixion, Holloway feared that the Chechen star would surpass his count.
“Man, he hits him hard,” said Holloway, responding live during round three of the UFC 319 Main Event on his YouTube channel. 'Now you elbow. Yes, now you elbow.
“He's going to beat me for the most important strikes, Bro? He has a thousand, Bro!
“Nobody will ever beat him, Bro. He will have a thousand. Unrecued,” Holloway added.
“He's already there, Bro.”
Khamzat Chimaev broke another Max Holloway record on UFC 319
In the end, Holloway had little worries about his record for important strikes.
Chimaev not only cracked the top 10 in that category, he was not only not within 400 strikes of the total of Holloway. Only 37 of the strikes of the new champion at UFC 319 were closed as important, and further context behind why many people described the fight as matte and unsatisfactory.
But 'blessed' did not come up with all his records intact. Chimaev broke Holloway's total strikes UFC record with an amazing total of 529 shots. That figure surpassed the number of Hawaiian against Kattar with 82 strikes.
However, when it comes to damage, there is little doubt between the first place and the second place in that category. While Du Plessis largely escaped, Kattar seemed unrecognizable after five rounds with Holloway on 'Fight Island'.