Relentless Khamzat Chimaev beats Dricus du Plessis to win UFC middleweight title

Relentless Khamzat Chimaev beats Dricus du Plessis to win UFC middleweight title (AP Photo)

Chechen-born wrestling specialist Khamzat Chimaev completely dominated Dricus du Plessis to win the UFC middleweight championship at UFC 319 on Saturday night, smothering the South African with his grappling.

Chimaev scored a unanimous decision victory on the judges' scorecards. 

He set the tone in the opening minute, shooting for an early takedown to bring the fight to the mat and pinning the South African in a crucifix position before raining punches with his left hand, but the blows did little damage and du Plessis survived. 

Round two began in much the same fashion as the 31-year-old again brought the fight to the mat. This time he stuck to his opponent's back like a limpet to threaten with knee strikes and choke attempts, and Du Plessis was spent in the third and fourth rounds in similarly poor positions. 

There was a brief sliver of hope late in the final frame as du Plessis finally managed to get himself into a threatening position, but it was too little, too late, and Chimaev was declared the winner, with all three judges scoring the fight 50 to 44 in his favour. 

"I never game-plan. I just came in, work like I do in the gym. That guy is strong, I couldn't finish, respect that guy, he's the only champion who was saying my name. This guy has real heart, a real lion, a real African lion," Chimaev said, the new championship belt around his waist. 

Du Plessis took his dethroning with good grace before promising to win the title back. 

"He deserves this 100 percent, he beat me fair and square tonight. He was the better man tonight, and I'll be back. I'll come and get my belt back, but for now, it's his and he deserves it, and he has to enjoy it," he said.