4 UFC Fighters Who Have the Best Chance of Beating Khamzat Chimaev

Khamzat Chimaev is finally a UFC champion.

The undefeated Russian claimed the promotion's middleweight title in the main event of Saturday's UFC 319 card in Chicago, defeating Dricus Du Plessis by decision in one of the most dominant performances from a challenger in history.

Chimaev's win is going to launch him toward the top of every fight fan's pound-for-pound rankings. He has long been considered one of the best fighters in the sport, and now he's got the championship hardware to back it up.

It may be some time before he is without a title again. The middleweight division is packed with exciting contenders right now, but it's difficult to imagine any of them seriously challenging the new champion after UFC 319. The same goes for the numerous dangerous contenders in the welterweight division, where he has also competed in the past and may return in the future.

That being said, it would be foolish to act like there's a cake walk ahead for Chimaev. While he'll be favored to beat whoever he fights next, there are a few potential opponents who would be credible underdogs at the very least.

Here are the four toughest—and realistic—matchups for him in the UFC right now.

Reinier de Ridder

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Hardcore fans have known how good Reinier de Ridder is for ages, but over the last year, he's announced himself to the rest of the world.

A former two-division champ in One, De Ridder is now 4-0 in the UFC. He got things started with a pair of submission wins over Gerald Meerschaert and Kevin Holland, and he evolved into a legitimate title contender with a knockout of the mega-prospect Bo Nickal and an exciting decision defeat of Robert Whittaker in his last two contests.

There's no question De Ridder will be an underdog if he gets the next crack at Khamzat Chimaev. However, he's got some attributes that could give the champion some trouble.

First and foremost, he's incredibly dangerous with his submissions, and he is very good at suffocating his opponents from top position—much like Chimaev. He's also an increasingly capable striker, as he proved against Nickal.

Lastly, he's one of the biggest fighters in the division, having weighed in as heavy as 217.25 pounds for previous fights. He is not going to be an easy guy for Chimaev to outmuscle.

Fans aren't going to have a lot of confidence in him to beat Chimaev if this fight is made, but he might be the most credible challenge for the champion of all right now.

Anthony Hernandez

Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Anthony Hernandez has cemented himself as one of the top contenders in the UFC middleweight division with eight straight wins. That includes finishes over solid opponents like Edmen Shahbazyan, Roman Kopylov, Michel Pereira and Roman Dolidze. He also beat Arnold Allen by decision in that stretch.

Hernandez could be a good challenge for Chimaev in many of the same ways De Ridder would be. He is excellent at submissions—a decent counter for Chimaev's wrestling—and has ever-improving standup that should not be underestimated.

He's not as big as De Ridder, which will make him easier for Chimaev to throw around, but he has another weapon that could be even more useful against the new champ: cardio.

Hernandez has one of the best gas tanks in the division. He's capable of fighting at a very fast tempo for a long time. While Chimaev kept up a great pace for 25 minutes at UFC 319, he has struggled with his endurance in the past. This may be something Hernandez could exploit—though it's a long shot.

Nassourdine Imavov vs. Caio Borralho winner

Fayez NURELDINE / AFP

On Sept. 6, in the main event of the UFC's annual stop in Paris, No. 1-ranked Frenchman Nassourdine Imavov will take on the sixth-ranked Caio Borralho from Brazil.

The winner of their fight may get a title shot before De Ridder or Hernandez, who may end up fighting each other in that case.

Whoever wins the Paris main event will have a better shot than most of beating Chimaev.

Borralho has won nine straight fights, including seven in the Octagon. That includes a submission win over Michał Oleksiejczuk, an utterly violent knockout win over Paul Craig, and a decision defeat of former title challenger Jared Cannonier last time out.

As his recent results show, he can do it all in the cage. He can submit his opponents, he can knock them out cold on the feet, and he can follow a game plan to win a 25-minute fight. That gives him plenty of paths to victory against Chimaev—even if they're narrow.

The same goes for Imavov. The Frenchman became the No. 1 contender in the weight class earlier this year, when he scored a stunning knockout win over middleweight legend Israel Adesanya. Other highlights of his recent resume include wins over Brendan Allen, Jared Cannonier, Roman Dolidze and Joaquin Buckley.

He has a good collection of knockouts, submissions and decision wins on his resume, so he has got the tools to shock Chimaev.

Islam Makhachev

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Islam Makhachev is one of the greatest fighters of this generation, and he has been floating near the top of the pound-for-pound lists everywhere for years.

After vacating the lightweight belt, he is now expected to challenge Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight title—possibly when the UFC returns to New York City this November.

If he achieves victory, it will supercharge talk about a superfight with Khamzat Chimaev. Granted, Chimaev will probably need to take care of a middleweight contender or two first, and Makhachev will have no shortage of challenges at welterweight, but it will be the subject of much discussion anyway.

It's possible we could see it happen sometime in the next few years. Chimaev has expressed openness to returning to the welterweight division in the future, and a title fight against a pound-for-pound talent like Makhachev would be massive.

Makhachev has also shared his interest in moving up to middleweight in the future. That seems a little less likely than Chimaev coming back down, but if they both keep winning like they have been, anything is possible.

Makhachev's status as one of the most versatile and dangerous fighters in MMA history would make him a very tough challenge for Chimaev. He'd probably be a decent underdog due to being smaller than the new middleweight champ, but nobody would be counting him out completely.