Newly crowned UFC middleweight champion Chimaev (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) went after de Ridder (20-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) on Tuesday with posts on X directed at the contender, just days after beating Dricus Du Plessis in an all-time dominant title fight at UFC 319.

Dana White announced that Reinier de Ridder will face Anthony Hernandez on October 18, with the result of this matchup and the main event of UFC Paris next month being used to decide the next challenger. One of the four fighters in the running to challenge Chimaev has already started to have some thoughts about how he would prepare for such a task.

Newly-crowned middleweight champion, Khamzat Chimaev, returned home to United Arab Emirates (UAE) following his Dricus du Plessis victory atop the UFC 319 pay-per-view (PPV) event last weekend in Chicago.

Paulo Costa ripped Khamzat Chimaev's title-winning performance at UFC 319.

The last UFC pay-per-view event of the summer produced a new champion and exciting opportunities for more fireworks to end 2025.