Chimaev finally gets UFC title shot after long road to the top

After Khamzat Chimaev burst onto the MMA scene in 2020 with a flurry of fast, violent stoppages that suggested a champion-in-waiting, he finally gets his shot at UFC gold when he takes on incumbent Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 in Chicago on Saturday. 

The Chechen-born 31-year-old, who started his professional career in Sweden before moving to the United Arab Emirates, was long seen as an unstoppable force until his career was disrupted by illness and visa issues.

Saturday's showdown will see Chimaev put his unbeaten record on the line against the unorthodox South African. 

"I think he's ready, I'm ready, just going in, fireworks," Chimaev told a media conference on Thursday that saw his opponent roundly booed by members of the public in attendance. "I've come to take over, man, to take his head and go." 

Both fighters made the 185-pound limit at Friday's weigh-in, setting up a mouth-watering clash between Chimaev's smothering wrestling and hard-hitting groundwork and the sheer unpredictability of du Plessis, who is also 31. 

Chimaev roared out of the traps when he entered the UFC in July 2020, submitting John Phillips in the second round of his debut with the promotion before making an incredibly quick turnaround by dropping down to welterweight 10 days later and knocking out Rhys McKee in the opening round. 

He was back in the cage again less than two months later to score a knockout win over Gerald Meerschaert in 17 seconds that looked to have put him on a fast-track to title contention. 

Chimaev's meteoric rise was abruptly derailed when he tested positive for COVID-19 in December 2020 and such were his struggles to recover from the illness that he announced his retirement from the sport in March 2021, only to relent shortly