Khamzat Chimaev didn't just prove he's as good as his own hype on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, the unbeaten middleweight contender showed flashes that he's potentially even better than we thought.
In the co-main event of UFC 308, Chimaev (14-0) took former 185-pound champion Robert Whittaker (26-8) down in the first 15 seconds of the bout and never let him back to his feet. The native of Chechnya, Russia, produced a tap out at 3:34 of Round 1 after Whittaker claimed the face crank applied by Chimaev might have dislocated his jaw.
Chimaev, 30, who saw his meteoric rise slowed in recent years due to constant injuries and illness, entered the fight inside Etihad Arena as the No. 13-ranked middleweight in the UFC and might have exited it as the next title challenger.
"I'm going for the belt!" Chimaev said. "Thanks [Whittaker], I love you my brother. You have always been a picture for me, you're a legend. Respect that you took the fight with me. No one wants to fight with me. All the champions are running from me."
Whittaker, 33, was never able to land a strike of any significance before being taken down. The Australian veteran, who was born in New Zealand, showed good scrambling ability to work his way out of vulnerable grappling situations on the ground multiple times but could not work his way back to his feet.
Chimaev, who held firmly on Whittaker's back during each scramble, eventually secured what appeared to be a rear-naked choke attempt. But Chimaev's grip was so strong that it became a neck crank, forcing Whittaker to tap out instantly.
"I felt that it was almost broken," Chimaev said of Whittaker's jaw. "I felt that there was something wrong."
Chimaev, who will likely have to wait for former champion Sean Strickland to get the next shot at Dricus du Plessis' UFC middleweight title, did not hide during the post-fight interview what he hopes will be his next move.
"Dana [White], what's wrong with UFC, man?" Chimaev said. "Give me the belt!"
The main event saw Ilia Topuria retain his featherweight title in a stunning knockout of former champ Max Holloway.
The bout was as expected from the jump with both men unloading incredible power shots through two rounds. After the second intermission, it seemed like Holloway was gaining momentum with his volume striking and head movement, which were frustrating Topuria as he marched forward. Instead, Topuria flipped the script in the third round by forcing Holloway against the fence and stunning him with a straight right hand before uncorking a perfect left hook to put him down for good.