Times have changed. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) boogeyman Khamzat Chimaev captured Middleweight gold at UFC 319 last night (Sat., Aug. 16, 2025) by completely dominating former 185-pound kingpin Dricus du Plessis,

Former UFC champion Sean Strickland has been handed a ban and a fine for a controversial moment involving a fellow UFC star. Nearly two years after he produced one og the biggest upsets in the history of MMA and claimed the UFC middleweight title after beating Israel Adesanya, Strickland is still making headlines.

Israel Adesanya nearly missed the best moment of UFC 319 because he was too busy yapping. The former two-time middleweight champion watched on from home as Khamzat Chimaev claimed his old title on Saturday night. Dricus du Plessis was mauled en route to a lopsided unanimous decision defeat at the United Center in Chicago.

Former UFC champion Israel Adesanya praised Chimaev after his lopsided unanimous decision victory over Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319, a performance that saw the Chechen-born star claim the belt with scorecards of 50-44 across the board.

Like most in the MMA world, Israel Adesanya hadn't expected Khamzat Chimaev to win a five-round war against Dricus du Plessis.

In a recent appearance on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, UFC middleweight contender Reinier de Ridder revealed that he believes Adesanya is the best to ever do it in his weight class. He specifically pointed to Adesanya’s rematch with Alex Pereira at UFC 287, where he bounced back from losing his title to knockout ‘Poatan’ in incredible fashion.

ISRAEL ADESANYA is champing at the bit to return to the cage – despite some vocal fight fans calling for him to retire. The former long-reigning UFC middleweight champion is currently on a