The combination of his dominance and his larger-than-life personality made it clear he was on a fast track to superstardom. Now, just days away from his title shot at UFC 319, Chimaev has hit a milestone that cements his place among the sport’s biggest names one that puts him in exclusive company alongside Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev.

To reach the 185-pound gold, the Chechen star had to get through a pair of former UFC champions in Kamaru Usman and Robert Whittaker. Before that, Chimaev had been first targeting the welterweight title but a huge misstep on the scale brought that to an end prematurely in 2022.