Khamzat Chimaev’s wrestling clinic against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 on August 16, 2025, impressed fans and fighters alike at Chicago’s United Center. Some booed the lack of striking, but former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker called it a masterclass. On his MMArcade Podcast, Whittaker praised Chimaev’s control and tipped Reinier de Ridder as his biggest future challenge.
Whittaker’s Take on UFC 319
Chimaev dominated Du Plessis for 25 minutes, landing 529 strikes and 12 takedowns to win the middleweight title. Fans expected a close fight, but Chimaev’s grappling shut down Du Plessis. Whittaker said:
“Anyone that say it’s a boring fight is a casual. If you’re a fan of the sport and you’re not fascinated by Chimaev’s ability to control someone as dogged as Dricus [du Plessis], who’s gotten out of things time and time again, who physically never gasses, super strong…If you’re not fascinated by such one-sided domination, then you have to be a casual.”
He added, “You never see this. This level, at championship fights. This level of control—we just saw someone get crucifixed for 15 minutes. How can you be a fan of the sport and not think, wow, that’s crazy.”
Whittaker noted Chimaev’s relentless pace, saying:
“It’s not like one dude was just taking him down to wait, [Chimaev’s] been doing this from the first 20 seconds of the fight.” He expected Chimaev to take Du Plessis down but was shocked by his stamina. “Everyone knew the first round was going to look like that. Not the finer details such as the crucifix and him just laying 400 punches on his dome, but we knew he would get him down and hold him down. What we didn’t expect was Chimaev’s ability to do that for 25 minutes. That was mind blowing.”
Despite the loss, Whittaker respected Du Plessis’ effort, saying:
“Props to Dricus, guy was fighting. [du Plessis] never gave up on himself. You can hear it in the corner, you see it in that 5th round.”
Asked who could challenge Chimaev, Whittaker pointed to Reinier de Ridder.
“De Ridder. I think de Ridder’s got a good shot because I think the person that has given Chimaev the closest fight, in my opinion, has been when he fought Gilbert Burns. That was because Chimaev was respectful and cautious of Gilbert’s jiu-jitsu game and De Ridder’s a ground player. He’s a tall, bottom player jiu-jitsu guy. Then if he does respect his ground, like he did in the Burns fight and it becomes a bit of a slugfest, I think de Ridder’s really unconventional. He’s got some annoying attacks and shots that might give Chimaev some grief.”
De Ridder, a former ONE Championship two-division champion, beat Whittaker via split decision at UFC on ABC 9 on July 26, 2025, in Abu Dhabi. His grappling and unconventional style make him a threat.
Whittaker debuted in the UFC in 2012 after winning The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes at welterweight. He moved to middleweight, winning the interim title in 2017 against Yoel Romero and the undisputed title later that year. He defended it once before losing to Israel Adesanya in 2019. Whittaker’s notable wins include Ronaldo Souza, Darren Till, and Paulo Costa. He faced setbacks, losing to Du Plessis by knockout at UFC 290 in 2023 and to Chimaev by submission at UFC 308 in 2024. His latest loss was to De Ridder.
De Ridder joined the UFC in 2024 after dominating ONE Championship. His UFC wins include Gerald Meerschaert, Kevin Holland, Bo Nickal, and Whittaker. After beating Whittaker, he called for a title shot against the UFC 319 winner. “I want to fight for that strap,” he said. Daniel Cormier, on his YouTube channel, noted De Ridder’s grappling could trouble Chimaev.
Before UFC 319, Whittaker predicted Du Plessis would win if Chimaev couldn’t finish him early, citing Chimaev’s cardio concerns from his fights with Burns and Kamaru Usman. He was wrong, as Chimaev went the distance. De Ridder also picked Du Plessis to finish Chimaev late, but Chimaev proved them both wrong. Chael Sonnen, on ESPN MMA, called Chimaev’s control “unmatched,” while Kamaru Usman said his striking needs work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VHAIlOpG9A&ab_channel=MMArcadePodcast
