Khamzat Chimaev departed ‘Chi-Town’ with a pair of championship belts.
Following an exceptionally dominant display in UFC history, Chimaev was named the new middleweight titleholder, concluding Dricus Du Plessis’ title reign 19 months after it started. But that was not all that Chimaev achieved. Borz’ also received his BJJ black belt after keeping ‘DDP’ on the mat for over 21 minutes during their five-round matchup.
Previously, former lightweight champion Islam Makhachev has criticized fighters for attaining black belts without genuine merit. Nonetheless, former three-time UFC title contender Chael Sonnen doesn’t necessarily agree that this applies to Chimaev’s remarkable performance at UFC 319.
“He earned his black belt tonight,” Sonnen remarked on his YouTube channel. “Islam Makhachev had called out, but what Islam was genuinely highlighting is a truth, which is that black belts are occasionally given out a bit too readily.
And I do feel, if you analyze Chimaev’s performance tonight, you all will highly regard his black belt, acknowledging what he has accomplished in this sport up to now, including becoming a number one contender, as well as defeating Robert Whittaker as swiftly as he did while being a brown belt. I believe you will appreciate that.”
Chimaev’s victory over ‘DDP’ may not have featured the explosive moments fans anticipated, but it is undeniably destined to be remembered as a comprehensive destruction of the South African star and the rise of the UFC’s unofficial nightmare.
