“Mentally, I cannot be broken. It is impossible.” Chimaev is no stranger to being the villain during fight weeks. That was certainly the case when backstage scuffles and a huge weight miss in September 2022 led to fans booing and fighters like Georges St-Pierre criticizing Chimaev’s conduct at UFC 279.

Since Khamzat Chimaev won two fights in 10 days to kick off his UFC career in 2020, a title shot has felt inevitable. Chimaev finally gets that opportunity on Saturday night when he challenges for Dricus du Plessis' middleweight championship in the main event of UFC 319.