Chimaev achieved what felt like a long-awaited and inevitable coronation when he entered his first career title tilt against the now-former champion Dricus du Plessis this past Saturday in Chicago. As usual with "Borz," it was another pillar-to-post domination that dethroned du Plessis via a unanimous decision.

Robert Whittaker opened up on Reinier de Ridder repeatedly grabbing his gloves in his UFC on ABC 9 loss. Whittaker (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) was edged out in a split decision loss to De Ridder (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in July in Abu Dhabi. The former middleweight champion almost finished De Ridder when he knocked him down in Round 3, but De Ridder survived.

Robert Whittaker recently fired back at critics of the UFC 319 main event between Khamzat Chimaev and Dricus du Plessis.

Robert Whittaker defends Khamzat Chimaev’s dominant performance over Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 against fans who called it boring.

Reinier de Ridder will face Anthony Hernandez in what will be an opportunity to make a statement to earn a shot at the newly crowned champion, Khamzat Chimaev. UFC Fight Night 262 takes place at Rogers Arena on Oct. 18. The promotion officially announced the matchup Tuesday.

UFC 319 had all the makings of a blockbuster stacked card, highlight-reel finishes, and a main event with the kind of hype that doesn’t come around too often. And while the night delivered in spades with wild knockouts and nonstop action, the headliner left some fans grumbling.

Two men who recently made headway in the UFC middleweight title picture will gain another opportunity to inch even closer to a shot at Khamzat Chimaev in the

Australia’s Robert Whittaker has suffered a heartbreaking split decision loss against Reinier de Ridder in Abu Dhabi – and after being “seconds” away from finishing the UFC middleweight division’s breakout star.