UFC 319’s main event wrapped a few hours ago, with Khamzat Chimaev delivering a career-best performance. He scored a staggering 50-44 on all judges’ scorecards against Dricus du Plessis. As many expected, the 31-year-old remains unscathed as he takes his record to 15-0. So, now, after wrapping the middleweight championship belt around his waist, one question arises—who’s next in line to face ‘Borz’? Well, there are two grudge matches the UFC would be tempted to put on for the fans.

Chimaev and Du Plessis had a fairly heated build-up ahead of their fight in Chicago. But ‘Borz’s’ rivalry with Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa was also steadily growing more intense. ‘Borrachina’ went off, calling the Chechen a “coward” before his fight against Roman Kopylov at UFC 318 for allegedly sending texts to his girlfriend. Meanwhile, ‘Tarzan’ labeled Khamzat a ‘weak’ man because of their past Xtreme Couture training sessions. Well, the newly crowned 185 lbs champion has addressed these issues before. But now, after getting the belt, there’s even more pressure on him to respond.

Khamzat Chimaev responds to Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa  

The Chechnya-Emirati champion was present at the post-fight press conference with his newly won belt. After giving insight into how he dismantled Du Plessis inside the Octagon for 25 minutes straight, he also opened up about Strickland and Costa. During the presser, when asked about Strickland’s claim of outwrestling Chimaev during the session together, Chimaev said, “This guy, I beat him everywhere, striking, this guy just talks too much, he’s a funny guy, he’s working with Paulo Costa, I put them together.” It seems he already had his next opponents in mind hours before he put his hands on the title. And now that he has it, the dig seems all the more sweeter.

A few hours before his fight, Chimaev uploaded a photo of Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa together on X, captioning it with a heart and a smiley emoji. That clears things up—if you’re wondering who should be next in line for the newly crowned champion, here you go. ‘Tarzan’ and ‘The Eraser’ both make solid options for the UFC, especially with Chimaev looking for a quick turnaround by UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi in October.

However, a matchup with Strickland might be tricky, as he’s facing an indefinite suspension by NASC for hitting a fighter at an MMA event. While these two fights might generate the most fan interest, another title challenger appears a bit too confident about his chances of defeating Khamzat Chimaev.

Anthony Herndandez wants to drown Borz in the deep waters  

Anthony Hernandez was one of the more interesting viewers at the United Center in Chicago. After scoring a swift victory against Roman Dolidze at UFC Vegas 109, he was celebrating with a belt. So, ‘Fluffy’ went to Chicago to witness the action firsthand. Even after seeing Chimaev’s one-sided domination, Hernandez believes he could be the one to take the new 185 lbs champ into deep waters and drown him.

“Congratulations to him, it was a pretty f—— boring fight, not gonna lie, but man, call me for the fight. I can wrestle, I can do jiu-jitsu, I can stop all the s— and I can shut him down, and with my gas tank, man, I’ll drown him, I promise,” Hernandez told ESPN Deportes.

It’s true that most middleweights, aside from Sean Strickland, haven’t been very vocal about facing Chimaev next. However, Hernandez’s bold attitude is a statement—he’s not afraid of facing ‘Borz’ in the near future. That said, he might have to wait, as Caio Borralho and Nassourdine Imavov are set to settle things at the UFC Paris main event. The winner of that fight could potentially get the next title shot

That said, what did you think about Khamzat Chimaev’s one-sided domination at UFC 319 against Dricus du Plessis? Do you think Strickland or Costa makes a strong case to become his next challenger? Share your thoughts in the comments below.