Khamzat Chimaev vowed to “smash everybody and kill everybody” standing in his way to UFC gold, fame, wealth, and history-making accolades. His latest victim was Dricus du Plessis, who failed in his third title defense after previously holding off two challengers. In the main event of UFC 319, Chimaev dominated the South African champion from start to finish, winning every round en route to a lopsided unanimous decision. Official scorecards and fight metrics show Chimaev logged 12 takedowns and an astonishing 21:40 of ground control time — one of the largest control totals recorded in a title fight — while landing an overwhelming total-strikes advantage.

Few expected Chimaev to encounter so little resistance against the more seasoned “South African Lion” with the belt. Yet, when it came to his actual title triumph, the challenger carried significant momentum and support, among his backers was none other than one of football’s biggest global icons.

Khamzat Chimaev reunites with $190M Swedish soccer legend

Since leaving Chechnya at 19 and moving to Sweden, newly crowned UFC Middleweight Champion Khamzat Chimaev has crossed paths with some of the biggest names in sports and media. Among them, perhaps the most notable is football icon Zlatan Ibrahimović, who has often proclaimed himself the “GOAT” of his sport. Following Chimaev’s dominant title-winning performance at UFC 319, the 43-year-old soccer legend made a public gesture to celebrate the undefeated fighter’s success: a FaceTime image of Chimaev speaking with Ibrahimović was shared by journalist Adam Zubayraev on X, and Ibrahimović has previously posted praise for Chimaev on his Instagram story (“The Wolf. Khamzat Chimaev. The next champ.”).

Just hours after the fight, MMA Orbit posted on X, sharing a screenshot of Chimaev and Ibrahimović on FaceTime with the caption: “Swedish football legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic FaceTimed Khamzat Chimaev following his win at #UFC319 🇸🇪🤝.” To add to that, Ibrahimović also took to Instagram story, posting a photo of Chimaev holding the belt along with his congratulations to the new champion.

In case you don’t remember, Khamzat Chimaev and Ibrahimović first met in the summer of 2023, when the Swedish star visited the UFC contender during his training camp and even gifted him an AC Milan jersey, one of the many top clubs the Malmö native represented during his decorated career. That meeting sparked a bond, and Ibrahimović was among those keeping a close eye as Chimaev dismantled Dricus Du Plessis in the UFC 319 main event. Interestingly, even before Borz stepped into the Octagon to face DDP, it seems the Swedish soccer great had already predicted the outcome. So what did he say?

Khamzat Chimaev tipped as ‘Next Champ’ after UFC 308 destruction

Although Khamzat Chimaev never obtained Swedish citizenship, ‘Borz’ enjoys strong backing from the country and its biggest sporting icon, Zlatan Ibrahimović, who represented many of Europe’s elite clubs during his illustrious career. The 43-year-old striker was in attendance when Chimaev defeated Kamaru Usman at UFC 294 two years ago.

After that fight, Chimaev gave a heartfelt shoutout during his post-fight interview, saying, “Zlatan, thank you, brother. You come to support me. It’s crazy!” Ultimately, Ibrahimović posted a clip of Chimaev battering Robert Whittaker the next year, to his 64 million Instagram followers, captioning it: “The Wolf. Khamzat Chimaev. The next champ.”

Now, with his victory at UFC 319, Khamzat Chimaev seems to have cemented himself at the very top of the UFC’s middleweight division. But the question is, how long can he stay there? And is there anyone who can bring him down a notch or two? What did you think?