Undefeated Khamzat Chimaev delivered another stunning performance as he submitted former champion Robert Whittaker in the first round of their middleweight clash during UFC 308 at the Etihad Arena on Saturday, setting himself up for a shot at the title.
Chimaev wasted no time taking his opponent down, making the most of his wrestling skills to overpower Whittaker before latching on to a face crank that ended up dislocating his jaw. Whittaker was forced into a first-round submission just 3:34 into the fight.
It was a sensational result for the Chechen-born fighter who returned to the octagon for the first time in a year; Chimaev was forced to pull out of his bout with former middleweight champion Whittaker at the inaugural UFC Saudi Arabia event in June due to illness.
With the result on Saturday, Chimaev extended his undefeated record which now stands at 14 victories, with no draws or losses.
“I’m going for the belt!” Chimaev said after his dominating win.
“That guy, thanks, Rob. I love you, my brother. You legend, I respect you took the fight with me, no one wants to fight with me. All the champions are running from me.
“I'm always trusting God. I do my best in the training. I push myself, and my wife, my family, they know how hard I work. I can do the best that I can do and then trust God. He shows me the way, so he's on my side."
Chimaev was asked whether he knew about Whittaker's jaw injury.
"They show [a picture of Whittaker's injury] to me. I felt something was wrong with his chin when I push it. So, feel bad for that, didn't mean to break somebody's chin. But this is my work, you know. Make somebody pain," Chimaev said.
Chimaev thus became the first middleweight to submit Whittaker, who entered the fight as the division's top contender. Next on Chimaev's radar are South African champion Dricus Du Plessis and former champion Sean Strickland.
"Dana (White), what's wrong with the UFC, man?" Chimaev said, calling out UFC's CEO during his post-fight interview. "Give me my belt."
“It doesn’t matter Sean or Dricus, just going for the gold. We’ll see what happens next. I’m ready."
If not a title shot, Chimaev said he is ready to fight former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
“For me, Adesanya would be a good money fight because he has a big name. Sean Strickland, we’ve been in the gym. We have some stuff not done yet, so that would be good history as well.”
It was Whittaker's first loss in over a year, ending his title shot bid for now. The Australian native held the belt from July 2017 to October 2019, defending it once.
The main event of the evening, Ilia Topuria successfully defended his featherweight title with a third-round TKO against Max Holloway.
In a contest between two stalwarts of the division, Topuria landed a flurry of punches to end the challenge of Holloway, who had earned a title shot with a stunning fifth-round KO against Justin Gaethje in April.
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Ilia Topuria after knocking out Max Holloway with a left hook during their featherweight title bout at UFC 308 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. All photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Ilia Topuria, left, overpowered Max Holloway during their featherweight title bout at UFC 308 -
Ilia Topuria attempts to blocs a punch from Max Holloway -
Ilia Topuria knocks out Max Holloway with a left hook -
Ilia Topuria celebrates his featherweight title win in Abu Dhabi -
Khamzat Chimaev knocked down Robert Whittaker in the first round of their middleweight bout at the Etihad Arena -
Khamzat Chimaev defeated Robert Whittaker in stunning fashion on Saturday -
Khamzat Chimaev ended up injuring Robert Whittaker's jaw during his first-round win -
Khamzat Chimaev celebrates his middleweight win -
Magomed Ankalaev, right, takes on Aleksandar Rakic in a light heavyweight bout in Abu Dhabi -
Magomed Ankalaev, left, blocks a kick from Aleksandar Rakic -
Lerone Murphy battles with Dan Ige, left, in their featherweight bout -
Lerone Murphy, right, defeated Dan Ige on Saturday -
Shara Magomedov took on Armen Petrosyan in a middleweight bout. -
Shara Magomedov (red shorts) takes on Armen Petrosyan in their middleweight clash -
Mateusz Rebecki, right, battles with Myktybek Orolbai -
Mateusz Rębecki, right, evades a punch from Myktybek Orolbai -
Abusupiyan Magomedov (red shorts) takes on Brunno Ferreira in a middleweight bout. -
Abusupiyan Magomedov fights Brunno Ferreira, right, in a middleweight contest -
Abusupiyan Magomedov, right, defeated Brunno Ferreira
Topuria thus became the first fighter to knockout Holloway, who has competed for the UFC for more than a decade.
"All the praise to Max Holloway," Topuria said.
"With that right hand, I felt it. I just saw it with him, in his face, he started making some steps back, and you don't see that often with Max," Topuria said, paying tribute to his opponent as Holloway suffered the first knockout loss in UFC.
"I hope I'm going to be a small portion of the example he has been for me, for the new generation."
In other events at UFC 308, top-ranked light heavyweight Magomed Ankalaev defeated Aleksandar Rakic by unanimous decision after three rounds.
In an action-packed three-round featherweight match, Lerone Murphy beat Dan Ige by unanimous decision. Also, Shara Magomedov defeated Armen Petrosyan by TKO in the second round of their middleweight bout.
