No one has as of yet managed to sole the riddle of Khamzat Chimaev at middleweight, but Reinder de Ridder says that there are tougher tests at 185-pounds.
The still-unbeaten Chimaev will seek to win his first world title when he takes on the middleweight pacesetter, Dricus du Plessis, at August’s UFC 319 event in Chicago, Illinois. The Chechen-born grappler has long been considered a prime candidate for a world title fight since making his debut for the organisation on its so-called ‘Fight Island’ in the Covid summer of 2020 — where he would win two fights in just ten days, and in two different weight classes.
Having defeated two former world champions in his last two fights (Robert Whittaker and Kamaru Usman), Chimaev will take on his biggest test to date late this year against the South African champion, who is a perfect 9-0 in the UFC (23-2 overall) since making his UFC bow back in October 2020.
But according to another fighter in the division, Reiner de Ridder, Chimaev isn’t the biggest threat in the 185-pound fold.
“Not by me,” De Ridder said when asked if Chimaev was the most ‘feared’ fighter at middleweight, as noted by Bloody Elbow. “I think we don’t really talk about him as much, but the French guy [Nassourdine Imavov] is very complete.
“He moves very well, is very relaxed, and is smart when he fights. I think that might be a harder fight. But Khamzat is, of course, a great fighter.”
As De Ridder notes, Imavov has stood out in recent performances, particularly this past February where he scored a career-best win; a second-round TKO victory over the former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. His record also shows impressive wins over the likes of Jared Cannonier, Brendan Allen and Roman Dolidze.
But with Chimaev potentially winning UFC gold by the end of the summer, De Ridder also predicted how a fight between the pair might look.
“I think it would be a very, very cool grappling match,” he said. “Lots of nice wrestling scrambles. Lots of nice positions to go through. I’d be happy if he gets some rounds in with Dricus, so I have some more to study.”
For his part, De Ridder signaled himself as one to watch in the division in his last performance where he became the first man in professional mixed martial arts competition to defeat the Penn State wrestling legend Bo Nickal.
