Khamzat Chimaev’s commanding victory over Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 on August 16, 2025, made him the new middleweight champion at Chicago’s United Center. Lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan, in Chimaev’s corner, shared in a YouTube interview with Adam Zubayraev how he ensured a safe win by sticking to wrestling. Despite Chimaev’s urge to strike, Tsarukyan’s advice kept him disciplined.
A Disciplined Game Plan
Chimaev dominated Du Plessis for 25 minutes, landing 529 strikes and 12 takedowns to win by unanimous decision (50-44). Tsarukyan, a key training partner, revealed the plan was to avoid risks.
“The plan for the fight was to wrestle, try not to get into exchanges,” he said. “I told Khamzat right before the fight: ‘You’re better everywhere than him. The only way you can lose is if you brawl with him and let your emotions take over. If you take a hit, don’t force things, don’t try to jump into a slugfest with him. Just outplay him technically.’”
Tsarukyan stressed patience to prevent mistakes.
“‘You out-wrestle him 100 times, you outbox him. And if you take him down, if you control him? Then control him. Don’t rush, don’t try to go for a submission right away and lose position. It’s better to calmly win rounds than go for a submission, miss it, lose position, and have to take him down again,’” he advised Chimaev. This kept Chimaev focused, even when he wanted to strike. “That’s why he fought calmly and worked,” Tsarukyan said. “We kept calming him down so he wouldn’t force things. Just a controlled strike. Why? Our goal was to win the title. We achieved it. If we had let him go chasing a knockout, a finish, he might have made a mistake somewhere and lost the fight. So it’s a risk, right? Why risk it if everything’s working?”
After leading 3-0, Chimaev asked to box in the fourth round.
“After the third round he tells me, ‘Can I box a little now?’” Tsarukyan recalled. “‘No, Khamzat. Everything’s working for you already. If you see a chance to take him down, take him down and control. No need to invent anything. If you win three rounds at this pace, why change anything? Why make things up?’”
Chimaev wasn’t happy.
“He stood up all sulky, like, ‘Ah, we gotta wrestle again,’” Tsarukyan said with a laugh. “He went into the next round all sulky.” via
Before UFC 319, Tsarukyan emphasized Chimaev’s cardio work with coach Sam Calavitta, saying, “His cardio must be very good,”. Darren Till, who trained with Chimaev and fought Du Plessis in 2022, predicted Chimaev would win but warned Du Plessis could push him. Michael Bisping, on his YouTube channel, called Chimaev’s reign a “disaster” for the division due to his dominance, naming De Ridder as a threat. Robert Whittaker, on his MMArcade Podcast, also picked De Ridder.
