Khamzat Chimaev celebrates UFC 319 title win, with mystery inset. Credit: Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images

Khamzat Chimaev calls out top contender who would honor new UFC champ’s request

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow
By Christopher De Santiago | Last updated Aug 18, 2025 11:01 PM ET

Khamzat Chimaev may have found an opponent for his first UFC title defense.

Some pundits predict the undefeated Chimaev to have a long and dominant title reign following his shutout performance against titleholder Dricus du Plessis in the UFC 319 main event.

Chimaev improved to 15-0 as a pro with a unanimous decision win over du Plessis, dethroning the middleweight champion with his wrestling.

Post-fight, Chimaev expressed interest in a quick turnaround at UFC 321 on Oct. 25 in Abu Dhabi.

Chimaev knows a middleweight contender who would be interested in that fight date.

Khamzat Chimaev sends message to Reinier de Ridder after UFC 319

Chimaev has moved on from ‘DDP’ to ‘RDR’.

That’s right, on Monday, the new middleweight champion mentioned the #5-ranked contender (soon to be #6) Reinier de Ridder as a potential challenger.

“Rdr [crossbones],” Chimaev wrote on X.

Rdr ☠️
— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) August 19, 2025

De Ridder, a former two-division champion in ONE Championship, has been touted to be Chimaev’s toughest test at 185 lbs for his grappling credentials.

The black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu is coming off his first UFC main event win over former champion Robert Whittaker in July.

Reinier de Ridder says he’d ‘100%’ fight Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 321

Oct. 21 in Abu Dhabi? Sounds good for de Ridder.

“100%,” de Ridder said of potentially fighting Chimaev at UFC 321 on Submission Radio.

“Yeah, I’ll 100% be ready. I’m still in shape. I didn’t stop training.

“I did eat a little bit too much, but I can adjust that very quickly,” the 6’4″ middleweight said.

A heavyweight title fight between champion Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane currently headlines UFC 321 this fall.

De ridder mentioned that while #1 contender Nassourdine Imavov is fighting Caio Borralho next month, he could ‘sneak’ by and fight Chimaev for the title in October.

This article first appeared on Bloody Elbow and was syndicated with permission.

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