Chimaev broke multiple UFC records on his way to dethroning du Plessis via unanimous decision<\/a>. Across five rounds, Chimaev landed over 500 strikes and scored 12 takedowns with 21 minutes of control time.<\/p>\n With his seemingly unbeatable style, Chimaev ushers in a new era in the middleweight division, one a former champion and icon Adesanya<\/a> has taken notice of.<\/p>\n Prior to the title fight, Adesanya had backed former foe du Plessis to beat Chimaev via late TKO<\/a>.<\/p>\n Chimaev surprised many, including Adesanya, by how he was able to go five rounds with du Plessis and not fatigue.<\/p>\n \u201cNot what I expected,\u201d Adesanya said of Chimaev\u2019s title win on his YouTube channel.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I\u2019m glad Khamza fixed his cardio or improved his cardio to the point where he can go five rounds and just ragdoll people.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a mess to deal with because I thought DDP, okay, maybe round four, he\u2019d be able to stuff the takedowns because Khamzat would get tired. But he didn\u2019t even slow down.<\/p>\n \u201cHe slowed down DDP,\u201d Adesanya said of Chimaev.<\/p>\n \u201cHe slowed him down, which was very impressive because that\u2019s when he finished me in round four. Because I thought, okay, I got him now, but he just finds a way to get his third wind, fourth wind.<\/p>\n \u201cBut yeah, Khamzat made sure he didn\u2019t even get the first wind and just smothered him. \u201cKhamzat new middleweight champion, division is in good hands,\u201d Adesanya said.<\/p>\n A former champion of the division, Adesanya is currently riding a three-fight losing skid to du Plessis, Sean Strickland<\/a>, and Nassourdine Imavov<\/a>.<\/p>\n Khamzat Chimaev joins Israel Adesanya as third undefeated champion in middleweight history<\/p>\n Chimaev is one of several undefeated fighters to make it to a UFC championship.<\/p>\n Two fighters reached the feat at lightweight as current champion Ilia Topuria<\/a> and the retired Khabib Nurmagomedov<\/a> never lost to anyone.<\/p>\n At 15-0, Chimaev is the third undefeated fighter to hold the middleweight title. Former champion Adesanya was the second, going all the way up to 20-0.<\/p>\n![\"Khamzat](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2230535533-scaled.jpg\")
Photo by Geoff Stellfox\/Getty ImagesIsrael Adesanya says middleweight is in \u2018good hands\u2019 with Khamzat Chimaev as champion<\/p>\n
50-44. That was crazy.<\/p>\n