Did Khamzat Chimaev Just End the Era of Strikers in UFC Middleweight? Former Champ Weighs In
Khamzat Chimaev dethroned Dricus Du Plessis to claim the middleweight title. Michael Bisping, former UFC middleweight champion and longtime analyst, offered his assessment of the division’s future in the aftermath of UFC 319.
Chimaev secured a unanimous decision victory, sweeping the judges 50–44 across all scorecards. The contest took place August 16, 2025, at the United Center in Chicago before an announced crowd of 20,023 fans.
Khamzat Chimaev
Chimaev’s wrestling-dominant performance stood in stark contrast to the striking-heavy style that has characterized most middleweight title reigns. Du Plessis entered UFC 319 riding a three-fight defense streak and armed with a reputation for unorthodox striking, was unable to mount any meaningful offense against the grappling onslaught from ‘Borz’ Khamzat Chimaev.
In his post-fight analysis, Bisping highlighted the unprecedented nature of Chimaev’s dominance in the weight class. “I don’t think we’ve ever seen a dominant wrestler like Khamzat Chimaev in the middleweight division,” Bisping said. Historically, he noted, champions such as Israel Adesanya, Anderson Silva and Rich Franklin built their legacies primarily through striking ability. “Typically, it’s been strikers. I mean, look at Israel. Look at Anderson Silva, Rich Franklin – the list goes on. … But still, yeah, Khamzat Chimaev went out there, dominated the fight.”
UFC Middleweight Champions
Since its inception, the UFC middleweight title has been defined by fighters who built their legacies on striking and stand-up exchanges. Anderson Silva, who held the belt from 2006 to 2013, embodied a fluid, unpredictable style that combined pinpoint counters with fight-ending kicks. Rich Franklin was just before and was largely a striker. In recent years, Israel Adesanya carried the torch for striking excellence, mixing creative feints with lethal accuracy to dispatch opponents at range. This list also includes Luke Rockhold, Michael Bisping, Alex Pereira, and Sean Strickland were all middleweight champions and predominantly strikers.
Bisping went on to project the trajectory of Chimaev’s reign. “Honestly, I think even Reinier [de Ridder] is going to have a really, really tough time,” he said, referencing the former two-division ONE champion widely regarded as a potential future challenger. “This is going to be probably a very long and dominant reign in the middleweight division.”
Those remarks show a significant shift in the landscape. Du Plessis captured the belt with a split-decision win over Sean Strickland at UFC 297 and defended it successfully against both Strickland and Israel Adesanya, representing the culmination of modern striking evolution at 185 pounds. In contrast, Chimaev’s path – three first-round stoppages to enter the UFC, followed by a first-round submission of former champion Robert Whittaker revealed an emerging archetype built around relentless grappling and positional control.
Chimaev’s wrestling ascendancy raises questions about how future contenders will prepare. Reinier de Ridder and Caio Borralho will need to match Chimaev’s grappling intensity while offering more engaged scrambling and submission threats.
Khamzat Chimaev’s brand of wrestling mastery has injected a new dynamic into the middleweight division. Bisping, drawing on his own experiences as a former champion, believes Chimaev’s dominance marks the beginning of an extended chapter at 185 pounds.
