The wrestling game of Chimaev was simply too much for Du Plessis (23-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) to handle. After 25 minutes, the judges turned in unanimous scores of 50-44 to crown Chimaev as the new 185-pound champion.

While speaking in a video posted to Daniel Cormier’s YouTube channel, coach Alan Nascimento recalled Du Plessis and his coach claiming they welcomed wrestling battles. Chimaev’s trained suggested that whoever was in charge of preparing the South African on the ground should be fired.

Khamzat Chimaev took the UFC middleweight title from Dricus Du Plessis with a unanimous decision win over Stillknocks in the main event of UFC 319.

Du Plessis has been one of the most dominant fighters over the past couple of years. Since his first fight in the UFC in 2020, the South African contestant has not lost a match, winning the Middleweight belt at UFC 290 in 2023. He has since defended the title thrice, two wins coming by decision.

UFC 319 takes place on Saturday night with Dricus Du Plessis defending the middleweight title against Khamzat Chimaev. Here are the official weigh-in results.

In the main event, South Africa's Dricus Du Plessis will seek a third defense of his middleweight title opposite the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev. It's one of the biggest fights the UFC could make right now, and one that is rife with pound-for-pound implications.