Khamzat Chimaev News

Harry Kettle - December 9, 2025

UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev has given his thoughts on who he could take on next in the division. Right now, Khamzat Chimaev is on top of the world. He is the king of the middleweights after dethroning Dricus du Plessis, and many are excited to see what’s next for him. According to the man himself, though, we shouldn’t expect to see him stick around for too much longer at 185 pounds before he ventures up to light heavyweight.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 8, 2025

Khamzat Chimaev doesn’t plan to make the UFC middleweight division his home permanently. Despite only capturing the UFC Middleweight Championship back in August, Chimaev is already talking about moving up to the light heavyweight division. Chimaev hasn’t been shy about targeting reigning UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira.

Chris Taylor - November 29, 2025

Khamzat Chimaev appears to have an opponent for his first career UFC title defense. Chimaev (15-0 MMA) captured the promotion’s coveted middleweight title at August’s UFC 319 event in Chicago, earning a lopsided unanimous decision victory over Dricus du Plessis.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - November 25, 2025

Jon Jones is back in Russia and he had a humorous grappling exchange with UFC Middleweight Champion Khamzat Chimaev. Jones is widely regarded as one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, while Chimaev has been building his reputation as being one of the most dominant fighters today. “Bones” and Chimaev have long wanted to meet each other, so naturally, their greeting involved a grappling exchange.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - November 23, 2025

Ian Machado Garry and Khamzat Chimaev have spoken out on their backstage spat at UFC Qatar. Garry competed on the card this past Saturday, defeating Belal Muhammad. Meanwhile, Chimaev was in attendance in support of Arman Tsrukyan, who submitted Dan Hooker.

Curtis Calhoun - November 21, 2025

UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev will go under the knife before targeting his return to the Octagon next year. After defeating Dricus du Plessis earlier this year at UFC 319, UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev is eying the top contenders as his title reign kicks off. There’s no shortage of potential opponents for Chimaev’s first fight as champion, including Nassourdine Imavov and surging star Anthony Hernandez.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - November 17, 2025

Sean O’Malley feels Islam Makhachev can defeat most UFC middleweights, but could he beat the reigning champion? Makhachev further cemented his legacy this past Saturday night in New York City. He moved up in weight to challenge Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight gold in the UFC 322 headliner. Makhachev’s grappling once again earned him UFC gold, securing a clear unanimous decision victory.

Curtis Calhoun - November 12, 2025

Tensions are ramping up between UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev and the division’s former titleholder, Alex Pereira. Khamzat Chimaev capped off his meteoric rise with a dominant UFC middleweight title win earlier this year at UFC 319 against Dricus du Plessis. Chimaev smothered Du Plessis with his wrestling and timely striking to dethrone the champion and kick off a new era in the middleweight division.

Dylan Bowker - November 4, 2025

Khamzat Chimaev would be a major grappling threat to any contracted UFC fighter, according to a rising fighter in Oktagon MMA. The combatant in question is Tamerlan Dulatov, and his thoughts on ‘Borz’ began with an anecdote about how last May, Dulatov was getting in some work with Michael Venom Page. When it was referenced that MVP has called for certain fights with fighters like Chimaev and touching base on his experience working with Page, Dulatov said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],

Harry Kettle - October 30, 2025

Alex Pereira’s coach Glover Teixeira has both praised and criticized UFC champion Khamzat Chimaev in a recent interview. Right now, Khamzat Chimaev is on top of the world. He is the king of the middleweight division in the UFC after winning the world title from Dricus du Plessis earlier this year. Now, he has his eyes set on cementing his legacy even further, perhaps by going up to 205 pounds in search of a second world championship.

Curtis Calhoun - October 22, 2025

UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev didn’t take kindly to Ikram Aliskerov’s recent callout. Before Khamzat Chimaev became a UFC superstar, he rose through the ranks in Europe, enjoying successful stints in Brave CF and other promotions. During his early career grind, Chimaev faced off with future UFC colleague Ikram Aliskerov in a fight that Chimaev calls the toughest of his career.

Dylan Bowker - October 18, 2025

Khamzat Chimaev stands tall on the proverbial mountain of UFC’s middleweight class and hugely inspires upcoming fighters who came from the literal mountains of Chechnya. The Chechen MMA fighter in this context is Tamerlan Dulatov who will test skill with Henrique Melo at OKTAGON 78: Eckerlin vs. Trušček on October 18th. Dulatov appeared on Bowks Talking Bouts and when he mentioned the name of Chimaev, the Chechnya compatriot dynamic seemed strong. When touching on what it meant to see Chimaev ascend to being the UFC middleweight champion as a fellow Chechen combatant, Dulatov said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],

Curtis Calhoun - October 15, 2025

UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev made some wild accusations against Sean Strickland stemming from their past training sessions. Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland isn’t known to have many allies in Mixed Martial Arts due to his controversial behavior in and out of the cage. Strickland is currently serving a suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission stemming from a post-fight brawl at a Tuff-N-Uff event in Las Vegas earlier this year.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - October 15, 2025

If Khamzat Chimaev gets to share the Octagon with Alex Pereira, he might just tempt fate. It’s hard for MMA fans to imagine that if Chimaev were to meet “Poatan” he won’t attempt takedowns right away. Pereira is viewed as one of the UFC’s most dangerous strikers today. He dusted Magomed Ankalaev in just over a minute to reclaim the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in early October.

Curtis Calhoun - October 6, 2025

Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland has a top name in mind for his planned comeback fight. After Khamzat Chimaev secured the UFC middleweight title two months ago at UFC 319, a slew of contenders are making strong cases for the next title shot. Chimaev brought Dricus du Plessis’s title reign to a screeching halt in a dominant performance in Chicago.

Harry Kettle - October 5, 2025

UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev has teased a showdown with Alex Pereira following UFC 320. Last night, Alex Pereira shocked a lot of people by knocking out Magomed Ankalaev to win back the UFC light heavyweight championship. While many thought he was more than capable of getting the job done, his performance in the first fight didn’t give many hope that he would be able to turn things around in the rematch. Alas, he did, and he did so pretty emphatically.

Curtis Calhoun - September 8, 2025

One of Khamzat Chimaev’s former rivals, Robert Whittaker, believes Nassourdine Imavov can upset Chimaev in one specific facet. UFC middleweight contender Nassourdine Imavov continued his meteoric rise with a dominant win over Caio Borralho in the UFC Paris main event on Saturday. Imavov, who entered UFC Paris off recent victories over Jared Cannonier and Israel Adesanya, is knocking on the door of a title shot.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - September 8, 2025

Joe Rogan is curious to see if the UFC middleweight division’s “biggest star” can leapfrog his way to another title fight. Khamzat Chimaev is the reigning 185-pound titleholder following a dominant grappling performance against Dricus du Plessis back in August. Nassourdine Imavov made a case for the next middleweight title shot after defeating Caio Borralho at UFC Paris. The winner of the Oct. 18 bout between Reinier de Ridder and Anthony Hernandez also has a chance to secure the next 185-pound title shot.