The fastest takeover in modern UFC history: signed in 2020, two wins in ten days, and a wrestling pressure that made ranked fighters look like sparring partners. Khamzat Chimaev took the middleweight title from Dricus du Plessis in August 2025 without losing a round on most cards. In a 98-fighter all-time pool his measured reach puts him at #27 — an undefeated champion behind 26 names, most of them retired, two of them dead. That gap between record and reach is the argument this page exists for.
Record
15–0 on the night he took the title (August 2025) — all professional bouts
Title
UFC Middleweight Champion — d. Dricus du Plessis, UFC 319, Chicago, August 2025
Style
Freestyle wrestling base · pressure grappling, chain wrestling against the fence
Debut run
Two UFC wins in 10 days on Fight Island, July 2020 — a UFC record at the time
Finishes
Majority of wins by finish before the title run — submissions and ground strikes
Board basis
Top measured video: 10.8M views (Best Khamzat Chimaev Moments, UFC official, yt-dlp, 2026-11-03). Specs above do not move the board.
Watch him
Threads
Chimaev is the present tense of this board: #27 on reach, champion in the cage. Is reach just a lagging indicator for active fighters — or is #27 what an undefeated record is actually worth against a century of reels? First take wins the thread.
dagestan.wrestling · 1d
Nobody has won a round decisively against him
Champions on this board have losses to explain. He has none. The only argument against him is time, and time is running in his favour.
ㅅ 79 · 36 replies
strength.of.schedule · 4d
One title fight is not a legacy
Fedor defended a division for a decade. Call this page again after five defences — if the board still needs him then, he'll be top five on merit.
ㅅ 66 · 31 replies
Who beats this version of Chimaev?
Name the fighter and the mechanism — takedown defence, cardio, or the first five minutes. First take sets the thread.