Opinion: ‘Boring’ Performance Only Adds to Khamzat Chimaev’s Aura

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UFC 319 saw what appears to be the beginning of a new era at middleweight. Khamzat Chimaev absolutely dominated former champion Dricus Du Plessis in a manner that left no doubt about who was the superior combatant. Of course, Chimaev also managed to do so in a way that left the crowd booing late into their main event, keeping the damage to a minimum while focusing on control. It left many to question if the boring nature of the victory had UFC CEO Dana White regretting putting Chimaev in the position to win the title.

It’s no secret the Ultimate Fighting Championship is much more into the entertainment side of the sporting industry. Why else would it have let Martin Buday walk when he was 7-1 in the organization? It gives Chimaev the biggest platform of his career, and he turns it into a glorified wrestling match. I’m not ripping on wrestling, but that seems to be the aspect of mixed martial arts that fans tend to despise the most from an aesthetic perspective. If Chimaev is going to play it safe going forward, will the UFC sour on him?

There’s no chance the UFC steps off its push of Chimaev. Sure, White looked less than enthused as he put the belt on Chimaev, but he didn’t throw the new champion under the bus at the press conference. In fact, when he talked about the performance, he talked about how dominant Chimaev was against Du Plessis. White’s personal score for the fight was 50-41 for Chimaev. He may not have been all that excited about Chimaev’s inability to finish, but he acknowledged his dominance in a way none of us can by granting him a $50,000 post-fight bonus.

Those who screamed about Chimaev crapping the bed don’t know their history very well. This may have been the biggest stage for Chimaev, but he had yet to have a performance that elicited any sort of criticism heading into the fight. Combine that with his dominance, and it was obvious why the UFC was happy to put him in the title fight when there were arguably more deserving candidates. He’s allowed to have a sour performance or two.

Take some of the UFC’s most beloved champions as examples. Georges St. Pierre is regarded by many as the greatest mixed martial artist of all-time. His level of dominance has led many to forget how “boring” he was during the heart of his long second title reign. St. Pierre secured seven consecutive decisions to close out his reign, several of which were far cries from being “Fights of the Night,” even though one of them received that distinction due to a fan vote. Despite that, St. Pierre’s reputation had already been established due to his history of exciting finishes on his road to the title, not to mention his immense likeability factor. If you’ve got charisma, fans and the promotion will be exceedingly forgiving of almost anything.

It doesn’t even necessarily have to be charisma, either. It can be a fighter doing things we’ve never seen before. Anderson Silva’s lack of English-speaking skills early in his UFC run made it difficult for him to connect with fans. Nevertheless, the way he ran through Chris Leben and Rich Franklin upon his entry into the UFC made him a source of fascination for many. Unfortunately, he also turned in a series of frustrating performances, as his title defenses against Patrick Cote, Thales Leites and Demian Maia turned off a large swath of fans. It didn’t matter what Silva did after that stretch; some just wanted to see him lose the belt. Silva managed to redeem himself with several memorable defenses, but his critics were still tuning in because they wanted to be there when he lost the title.

Similarities to Conor McGregor

The same could be said about Conor McGregor. As popular as he became, there were just as many who were eager to see his downfall. I remember several members of my viewing party standing up and loudly cheering when McGregor fell to Nate Diaz; and they weren’t apt to do so outside of a live event. Much of that had to do with how much McGregor runs his mouth—something Chimaev tends to do, as well.

Chimaev has a little bit of everything going for him. He has done several things we’ve never seen before. He demolished his first two UFC opponents over a span of 10 days. He ragdolled the respectable Jingliang Li like he was a child. He caved in Robert Whittaker’s teeth. He’s charismatic, too. He talks about the things he plans to do in the cage and manages to back up just about all his claims in much the same way McGregor did. Chimaev has his detractors, too. His relationship with Ramzan Kadyrov, the controversial Chechnyan leader, has been enough for many to wish anything but success for him. In every single way, Chimaev is exactly the type of person the UFC wants as its champion.

As far as his first title defense goes, I don’t see the UFC caring much about who Chimaev faces. None of the deserving challengers are exactly draws, so the UFC might be willing to give the title shot to the most deserving contender for once since it seems unlikely to boost viewership. Besides, Chimaev is already the A-side to whoever he ends up meeting. That has always been the case, and it’s going to take a serious generational talent to change that. Given that Anthony Hernandez-Reinier de Ridder has been booked for October, I would guess the winner of the bout between Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho next month will likely be the next challenger.

Chimaev isn’t going to be hurt by this “boring” performance. If anything, it adds to his legacy, given that he won the fight in a manner many did not see coming. Chimaev appears to be his own biggest obstacle due to the high number of health setbacks he has suffered over the last few years. If he can manage to avoid those, it’s hard to believe we won’t be referring to his time as champion as an era.