Khamzat Chimaev is a boring athlete based on a top-ranked UFC middleweight contender. UFC middleweight athlete ‘Fluffy’ Anthony Hernandez has made his preferences clear concerning potential opponents for a title shot, describing a possible matchup with present champion Khamzat Chimaev as boring whereas expressing enthusiasm for going through former champion Dricus Du Plessis.
UFC Contender ‘Fluffy’ Anthony Hernandez Criticizes Khamzat Chimaev’s Type
Hernandez, who holds the fourth rating within the UFC middleweight division as of October 2025, voiced his opinions in regards to the contrasting preventing kinds of the 2 elite middleweights. The California native presently rides an eight-fight profitable streak, together with his most up-to-date victory coming through fourth-round submission towards Roman Dolidze at UFC Vegas 109 in August 2025. His spectacular run contains bonus-winning finishes over Roman Kopylov, Michel Pereira, and Dolidze, alongside a call victory over Brendan Allen.
Speaking about his future opponents, Hernandez delivered a candid assessment of what fans want to see at the highest level of competition. In an interview with MMA Junkie, he mentioned:
“I actually don’t give a shit who I battle, man. Like, I do know they make kinds and it makes it thrilling, however I actually like really don’t give a f*ck who I battle. I feel preventing Chimaev can be like much more like wrestling protection and boring, however, like Dricus can be a enjoyable battle as a result of he’s a striker. He comes, he bangs. Like that’s thrilling to me. That’s what individuals need to see, you recognize what I imply? And I really feel like if you’re preventing for the title and if you’re proper there, you need to do legendary sh*t, you recognize? I imply, you need bangers. You don’t need to like play some boring ass shi*.”
The feedback come after Chimaev captured the UFC middleweight championship at UFC 319 in Chicago on August 16, 2025, defeating Du Plessis through unanimous choice. The Chechen-Swedish wrestler utterly dominated the previous champion by way of overwhelming grappling stress, securing 12 takedowns out of 17 makes an attempt and sustaining management for almost 22 minutes throughout 5 rounds. All three judges scored the bout 50-44 in Chimaev’s favor, although the efficiency drew blended reactions from followers and fighters alike.
His choice for going through Du Plessis stems from the South African’s unorthodox striking-based strategy. Du Plessis constructed his championship reign on ahead stress and quantity hanging. Former opponents Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya have each described Du Plessis’s fashion as awkward and unpredictable, with Adesanya calling him “one of the best shit fighter on the planet” on account of his means to disrupt opponents’ momentum regardless of missing textbook method.
Chimaev’s wrestling-centric strategy contrasts sharply with Du Plessis’s hanging choice. The champion makes use of his freestyle wrestling background to take opponents to the bottom, the place he employs strategies just like Khabib Nurmagomedov. His grappling dominance was on full show towards Du Plessis, who struggled with explosive actions that proved ineffective towards elite-level wrestling.
Hernandez’s path to a title shot hit a significant setback in September 2025 when he withdrew from a scheduled main event bout against Reinier de Ridder at UFC Vancouver on October 18 due to an undisclosed injury. The matchup was considered a potential title eliminator, with the winner positioned to challenge Chimaev. Brendan Allen replaced Hernandez and defeated de Ridder when the Dutchman was unable to proceed after 4 rounds.
The middleweight title image stays crowded heading into late 2025. Nassourdine Imavov earned a unanimous choice victory over Caio Borralho at UFC Paris in September and has declared himself subsequent in line for a title shot. In the meantime, Chimaev expressed curiosity in defending his title at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi on October 25, 2025, although that occasion finally featured Tom Aspinall versus Ciryl Gane in the principle occasion.
The contender emphasized that his willingness to fight anyone in the division remains unchanged, regardless of style matchups. With his injury recovery underway and his eight-fight winning streak intact, ‘Fluffy’ Hernandez continues positioning himself for an eventual championship opportunity while making clear his preference for exciting battles over grinding wrestling contests.
