A UFC legend has hit back at fans after Khamzat Chimaev’s dominant performance to become the new middleweight champion.
Chimaev dethroned Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 to become the middleweight champion after using his incredible wrestling ability to control the South African.
It was a surprise to many just how much the Chechen controlled the fight, especially after he was labelled ‘one-dimensional’ by Du Plessis’s coach.
The fighter was able to control the now former champion for 21 minutes and 40 seconds of the 25-minute fight duration, winning every single round on all three judges’ scorecards to become victorious.
UFC legend blasts fans after Khamzat Chimaev’s dominant UFC 319 win over Dricus Du Plessis
Fans in the arena were not all thrilled by the amount of grappling and control from the 31-year-old, with boos audible on the broadcast when the fight headed into the third round.
Others watching at home also complained about the dominant performance, but UFC legend and former champion, Demetrious Johnson, responded to criticisms of the contest on his stream.
As the result was announced, Johnson reacted to the chat of his stream and said: “If you guys don’t wanna watch grappling and wrestling, don’t watch the UFC.
“You guys are complaining about something which is a very easy problem to fix.”
‘Borz’ was questioned in the build-up regarding his ability to fight for the five rounds, but it seems his one big game plan change of moving to the United States to work with Sam Calavita has paid off.
Johnson was known for his elite-level grappling before retiring from MMA in 2024.
His solution to complaining fans for the next time Khamzat defends his newly won crown was straightforward.
“Let’s say Khamzat is about to fight again. All you have to do is see this button right here. It’s called off button, (presses remote),” he said.
“It’s a very simple problem to fix, guys. You are making it a bigger deal than it is.”
Khamzat Chimaev responds to whether he will compete at UFC Abu Dhabi in two months
Now that he has become the king of the middleweight division, the Dubai resident will be looking for his next opponent quickly to become more active after his ten-month spell out of the Octagon.
During fight week, the star said in an interview that if he won the belt, he would want to go straight into his next contest in Abu Dhabi in October.
Asked by a reporter during the UFC 319 post-fight scrum about fighting again in two months, he responded: “We’ll see what they say. I’m ready, always. No injuries.”
Confirmation from the fighter himself that he did not sustain an injury in the contest is good news, but the difficulty will be finding an opponent.
Reinier de Ridder has taken a break following his win, Nassourdine Imavov fights Caio Borralho in September, and Anthony Hernandez has just fought, so the list of viable contenders remains slim.