After Chimaev’s lopsided decision win, his first challenger is now likeliest to come from the result of September’s UFC Paris main event: Nassourdine Imavov vs Caio Borralho.

Following his championship win, Khamzat improved his professional MMA record to 15-0 and has rarely been troubled during his nine-fight UFC run. Since joining the world's leading MMA organisation in 2020, Chimaev has shown himself to be one of the most skilled grapplers on the planet.

UFC CEO Dana White expressed a willingness to grant Chimaev his wish if he's serious about it. If it comes to fruition, de Ridder thinks he is the correct contender to be standing on the other side of the cage.

Dana White announced that Reinier de Ridder will face Anthony Hernandez on October 18, with the result of this matchup and the main event of UFC Paris next month being used to decide the next challenger. One of the four fighters in the running to challenge Chimaev has already started to have some thoughts about how he would prepare for such a task.

The latest action on offer inside the Octagon has seen some climb the UFC rankings toward contention and others fall away.

Chimaev (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) dominated Dricus Du Plessis (23-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) on the ground en route to a unanimous decision win in Saturday's main event at United Center in Chicago. Chimaev had over 21 minutes of control time on Du Plessis, and was showered with boos from the fans several times throughout the fight.