The wrestling game of Chimaev was simply too much for Du Plessis (23-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) to handle. After 25 minutes, the judges turned in unanimous scores of 50-44 to crown Chimaev as the new 185-pound champion.

Chimaev finally gets that opportunity on Saturday night when he challenges for Dricus du Plessis' middleweight championship in the main event of UFC 319.

Du Plessis has earned his status as UFC's top dog with wins over Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker and Sean Strickland (twice).