On August 16, 2025, Khamzat Chimaev claimed the UFC middleweight title with a one-sided win over Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 in Chicago. His grappling-heavy approach drew criticism from fighters like Paulo Costa for lacking excitement. UFC veteran Matt Brown, speaking on “The Fighter vs. The Writer,” defended Chimaev, likening his performance to champions like Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones.
Chimaev’s Dominant Display
At the United Center, Chimaev controlled Du Plessis for 25 minutes, landing 12 takedowns, over 21 minutes of control time, and 529 strikes to win by unanimous decision (50-44). Aired on ESPN+ pay-per-view, the fight saw Chimaev use the crucifix position to deliver punches and elbows, though he rarely pushed for a finish. Brown acknowledged the crowd’s disappointment.
“It was boring,” he said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “[Georges St-Pierre] had a lot of boring fights. But we don’t really talk about how boring GSP was do we? We talk about how dominant he was. That’s the game that we’re playing. You can’t take anything away from Khamzat for what he did. It’s cool watching him develop.”
Smart Fighting Over Entertainment
Brown emphasized Chimaev’s tactical approach.
“We can’t fault him for that,” he said. “It’s so easy to say when we’re sitting out here. He’s the one feeling things and he’s the one sensing DDP. Look, DDP is a tough son of a b*tch. He’s not a guy you want to be taking a bunch of risks with. I thought Khamzat fought very intelligently. I do feel like, again, watching from the outside, I feel like he could have done more. That’s such armchair quarterbacking. He won basically a 10-8 round probably three or four rounds in a world championship fight. Do you really want to criticize that?”
He added that Chimaev’s goal was victory, not pleasing fans.
“But at the same time, I do get the criticism because we’re saying he’s that guy. He kind of goes out and just does what he has to, to win, which is what you’re supposed to do. I wouldn’t say an argument but I was kind of explaining that to some of the people around [saying] ‘it’s boring.’ I’m like guys, this is a prize fight and he’s going to win the prize. Not to make you happy because you want to see blood.”
Chimaev’s Wrestling Edge
Brown sees Chimaev’s grappling as nearly unbeatable.
“Until someone solves his wrestling puzzle, I’m not sure how you’re going to beat him,” he said. “Someone’s going to have to give him a hard time taking them down where he is forced to stand. Then it’s going to be a close fight on the feet because I don’t think Khamzat is going to be an easy guy to beat on the feet either. As boring as this fight was — it was boring, I totally, fully admit that — as boring as it was, watching his progression, his ceiling is absolutely up to the stars. It’s very cool to watch him progress. He’s not going to lose that wrestling. I’m sure that’s who he’s always going to be but if at some point he come across a Yoel Romero type and he’s forced to stay on the feet, I think it’s going to be exciting to watch and exciting to see how that plays out.”
Growth from Past Bouts
Brown noted Chimaev’s evolution after earlier fights.
“I think we see a lot of these wrestlers come into MMA … we see wrestlers think they’re strikers. I think Khamzat went through that phase a little bit with [Gilbert] Burns and [Kamaru] Usman and then he was like ‘wait a minute, I’m the best wrestler here, what am I doing? And got back to it. He got a championship out of it,” he said.
Chimaev’s 2022 decision over Burns and 2023 win over Usman tested his striking, but his return to wrestling at UFC 319 secured the title.
Brown compared Chimaev to other dominant champions.
“Jon [Jones] had boring fights. GSP had boring fights. [Matt] Hughes had boring fights,” he said. “The majority of champions do have boring fights, it’s just part of the game. You can’t expect to just have exciting fights every time and be a longtime champion. It’s not a good strategy for competing, especially when you have the option of taking guys down. This isn’t GLORY. This isn’t Lumpinee Stadium. You have the option to take a guy down, control him, put him on his back and not allow him to put you at risk.”
Matt Brown competed in the UFC from 2008 to 2024, retiring with a 24-19 record (17-13 in the UFC). Known for knockouts over Diego Sanchez and Court McGee, he fought on “The Ultimate Fighter 7” and faced top welterweights like Stephen Thompson.
Paulo Costa, on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” called Chimaev’s style bad for MMA, saying it could “kill this business,”. Nate Diaz posted on X, “Can’t fight,”. Belal Muhammad criticized Du Plessis for not moving. Israel Adesanya praised Chimaev’s cardio on his YouTube channel. Demetrious Johnson, on his YouTube stream, suggested fans watch kickboxing if they dislike grappling.
