The main event of UFC Vancouver on 18 October will pit Reinier de Ridder against Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez, potentially offering a clue to Khamzat Chimaev’s first challenger for the middleweight title.
However, it is not that the winner of that bout is expected to be first up for the Russian, who dominated Dricus Du Plessis to win the belt in the main event of UFC 319 on Saturday (16 August).
After Chimaev’s lopsided decision win, his first challenger is now likeliest to come from the result of September’s UFC Paris main event: Nassourdine Imavov vs Caio Borralho.
That was already a possibility, with Borralho having even weighed in as the back-up fighter for Chimaev vs Du Plessis, but the winner of that bout is now likely to have priority over De Ridder and Hernandez for a title fight, or even to be healthier before the victor of that contest.
Of course, that could change depending on what happens in those fights, but as of now, it seems likely that Imavov or Borralho will be next for the unbeaten Chimaev, with De Ridder and Hernandez perhaps fighting to be next in line.
Although Borralho is seeded seventh, below No 5 De Ridder and sixth-ranked Hernandez, the Brazilian could leap up the rankings with a win over No 2 Imavov in Paris on 6 September.
Du Plessis, having lost to Chimaev by three scorecards of 50-44, will almost certainly not receive an instant rematch. While he sits at No 1 in the rankings, third-ranked Sean Strickland – another ex-champion – is coming off a loss to the South African, so he is also unlikely to be next for Chimaev.
Elsewhere in the top 10 are former champions Israel Adesanya at No 4 and Robert Whittaker at No 8, though each man was beaten by Imavov and De Ridder respectively in his last outing. France’s Imavov knocked out Adesanya in February, and Dutchman De Ridder narrowly outpointed Whittaker in July.
Interestingly, Borralho has not fought since August 2024, when he outpointed Jared Cannonier, but is riding a 16-fight win streak – bar a No Contest in 2018.
Meanwhile, American Hernandez enters his bout with De Ridder on an eight-fight win streak, and on the back of a submission of Roman Dolidze this month.
De Ridder is a former two-weight champion in ONE, where he held middleweight and light-heavyweight gold simultaneously, and he has gone on an impressive streak since joining the UFC in November. The 34-year-old submitted Gerald Meerschaert that month, before submitting Kevin Holland in January and stopping the highly-touted Bo Nickal in May. Then came his split-decision win over Whittaker.
