The dust from UFC 319 has barely settled, and Khamzat Chimaev may have already found a challenger gunning straight for him! The undefeated Chechen warrior walked out of Chicago without a scratch after dismantling Dricus Du Plessis and becoming the new middleweight champion.

As such, UFC boss Dana White hinted at the post-fight press conference, “I just had a kid fight Tuesday and wanted to turn around and fight here. Abu Dhabi? I would definitely consider,” when talking about ‘Borz’s turnaround time. With Tom Aspinall set to defend his heavyweight crown in the main event at UFC 321, the card needed another spark. And now, it seemingly has one with Reinier De Ridder raring to go at the newly crowned champion!

In a recent update on X, Khamzat Chimaev posted, “RDR”, followed by the skull and crossbones emoji.

‘The Dutch Knight’s response? He fired back with a page out of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s book as he wrote, “Send location.” That was all it took. A public callout, a fearless response, and suddenly the UFC may already have its next middleweight title fight.

While it may come as a surprise, the newly crowned middleweight king had already been planting the seeds for his reign before UFC 319. How? During an open workout leading up to the event, he had confessed, “I hope there is no injury and nothing happens in the fight, so I can fight in Abu Dhabi, maybe defend the belt, maybe fight someone else….”

Khamzat Chimaev has only fought once a year for his past few fights, but as he further shared, “[My inactivity] wasn’t my bad or my fault. Everyone knows I didn’t have a visa to the United States, that’s why I didn’t fight. That’s why I only fought one in Abu Dhabi. Now, Donald Trump here, so we go for fights.”

On the other side stands Reinier De Ridder, a man who has been quietly carving his own path in the UFC. The 34-year-old Dutchman is undefeated in the Octagon at 4-0, with three finishes this year. His resume already boasts a statement win over Robert Whittaker and a demolition of Bo Nickal.

As such, after witnessing ‘Borz’ win the belt at UFC 319, he stated in an interview, “Send me the contract, I already faced the best American wrestler, I’m curious to see how I can do against the best Caucasus area wrestler.“

So, what makes this matchup so intriguing? For starters, both men thrive on grappling dominance. Khamzat Chimaev’s smothering wrestling has broken every opponent so far, while De Ridder’s submission game and size make him a dangerous opponent at 185 lbs. And a man who has faced both men inside the cage is picking ‘The Dutch Knight’ to challenge the Chechen juggernaut’s dominance!

Khamzat Chimaev finds former champion backing Reinier De Ridder to give ‘Borz’ some “grief” in their matchup

Robert Whittaker has felt the suffocating pressure of Khamzat Chimaev and the relentless grind of Reinier De Ridder. That’s why, after UFC 319, the former champion didn’t hesitate when asked who could trouble the new king.

Speaking on his MMArcade Podcast, Whittaker explained that Chimaev’s domination of Dricus Du Plessis was impressive, but also surprising. He confessed, “Not the finer details such as the crucifix and him just laying 400 punches on his dome, but we knew he would get him down and hold him down. What we didn’t expect was Chimaev’s ability to do that for 25 minutes. That was mind blowing.”

Still, Whittaker sees a potential crack in the armor. He believes De Ridder’s ground game could force Chimaev into a cautious approach, similar to the one he used against Gilbert Burns. Back then, the Chechen star respected Burns’ jiu-jitsu so much that he engaged more on the feet. Could history repeat itself?

According to ‘The Reaper’, “He’s a tall, bottom player jiu-jitsu guy. Then if he does respect his ground, like he did in the Burns fight and it becomes a bit of a slugfest, I think de Ridder’s really unconventional. He’s got some annoying attacks and shots that might give Chimaev some grief.”

For Whittaker, De Ridder represents more than just another challenger. He’s a different puzzle, one that forces Khamzat Chimaev to think twice about his approach. And in a fight game where hesitation can change everything, that could be enough to level the playing field. So, will ‘Borz’ march through another contender to cement his reign in Abu Dhabi, or can ‘The Dutch Knight’ force the immovable object to hesitate and stumble?