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The first contender for Khamzat Chimaev’s 185-pound maiden defense is expected to be decided in the coming months. Post-fight, Chimaev made his wishes public about a quick turnaround at the UFC 321 PPV card, which takes place in Abu Dhabi on October 25. He has done such quick turnarounds before as well. Per UFC CEO Dana White’s new announcement, though, the new 185-pound king will have to wait a little longer.
After UFC 319, Khamzat Chimaev was called out by both rising contenders Reiner de Ridder and Anthony Hernandez. ‘Borz’ had even taken to socials to call out RDR as his possible first PPV title defense if he were to make a turnaround any soon.
On Tuesday evening, bossman Dana White announced that RDR vs. Hernandez would headline UFC Vancouver on October 18 in a possible title eliminator for Chimaev’s strap.
🚨 Dana White says the next challenger for Khamzat Chimaev's title could be either the winner of RDR vs Fluffy OR Imavov vs Borralho 👀
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 19, 2025
"We'll see how this whole thing plays out, and we're gonna end up with a middleweight challenger for Khamzat Chimaev's title…
These fights… pic.twitter.com/6hTwSMzs2k
However, first, two other names sit on the cog as a chance to be rightful title contenders, as Nassourdine Imavov will face UFC 319 backup fighter Caio Borralho in the UFC Paris headliner.
With that, the UFC Vancouver lineup consists of:
—Anthony Hernandez vs. Reinier de Ridder
—Kevin Holland vs. Mike Malott
—Manon Fiorot vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
—Marlon Vera vs. Aiemann Zahabi
—Azamat Bekoev vs. Yousri Belgaroui
—Danny Barlow vs. Djorden Ribieiro dos Santos
—Bruno Gustavo da Silva vs. Park Hyun-sung
—Stephanie Luciano vs. Ravena Oliveira
Anthony Hernandez pitched gimmicky BMF belt at middlewieght, before UFC 319
The top order of UFC Fight Night: Dolidze vs. Hernandez saw Anthony Hernandez execute a flawless Round 4 rear-naked submission highlight over a ranked rival. Then ranked 10, his highlight was enough to get people talking for a gradual top shot at middleweight gold; now, Khamzat Chimaev’s middleweight gold.
Hernandez’s recent victory has thus extended his winning streak to eight, and despite there being others, he makes the case for a title shot. After the fight, the grappling specialist doubled down on a secondary belt that can propel his agenda – a secondary BMF belt contested at 185 pounds only. This would come along with a challenge against Reinier de Ridder, who made his own case after UFC on ABC 9.
The thought was that the formerly No.1-ranked Imavov had pulled out of his second-stitch roles for UFC Paris. But that’d be impossible to make up for such a close rebound. So, there could be a long-lasting gimmicky title to show who’s the current top contender at the 185-pound mark and who everyone had to cross.
When I say ‘I don’t give a f**k who I fight’ — I’m [really] serious, I’m serious about that…Think it’d be cool if there was a contender BMF belt or something like that, but I want [THAT] title. So [de Ridder] and anyone. So the only reason I do this sh*t— to get that money..and, and family.
Anthony Hernandez during UFC Vegas 109 post-fight interviews
The BMF belt is gimmicky with no real correlation to contention. But the domination over one or the other fighter often makes the case. For example, after the UFC 318: Holloway vs. Poirier 3 PPV main event, Max Holloway is resurgent in the lighterweight class and now boasts domination over two former top contenders.
Which is what bolsters his own case of rising up to top contender status. Even Dana White has agreed that, now ranked #4, he makes a good case to rematch Ilia Topuria. The same could happen at middleweight with a proper top contender to challenge Khamzat Chimaev.
