CHICAGO — A record number of strikes and several submission attempts were enough for Khamzat Chimaev to win the UFC Middleweight Championship over Dricus du Plessis by unanimous decision at UFC 319 on Saturday night.
By taking all three cards by 50-44 scores, the 31-year-old Russian remained unbeaten at 15-0 despite what was a largely supportive sold-out United Center crowd turning to jeers as the fight went on.
Chimaev also landed 529 strikes in the match, breaking Max Holloway’s UFC record of 447 set in 2021, according to ESPN. His plus-484 striking differential also set a record, breaking Holloway’s mark of plus-312 in that same 2021 match against Calvin Klatter.
The South African Du Plessis (23-3) was on the canvas within the match’s first 10 seconds and the defending champion was on the defensive throughout the match.
“All credit to Khamzat,” Du Plessis, 31, said after the fight. “He beat me fair and square.”
With a crowded middleweight title-contender pool in front of him, Chimaev said he was spending at least one night enjoying his breakthrough win.
“I’m going to go back to the hotel, joke with my friends and enjoy this victory,” Chimaev said.
The rest of the main card saw Lerone Murphy and Carlos Prates deliver spinning back elbow knockouts of Aaron Pico and Geoff Neal, respectively. England’s Murphy (17-0-1) stayed unbeaten in the featherweight division with his win at 3:21 of the first round. Prates, who turns 32 on Sunday, ended his fight with one second remaining in the opening round of their bout in the 170-pound weight class.
Middleweight Michael Page’s two knockdowns were enough to secure a unanimous decision win over Jared Cannonier, and flyweight Tim Elliott secured a guillotine choke submission win over Kai Asakura at 4:39 of Round 2.
–Zain Bando, Field Level Media
