Chael Sonnen includes Bo Nickal in his list of desired opponents for new UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev.

Dana White announced that Reinier de Ridder will face Anthony Hernandez on October 18, with the result of this matchup and the main event of UFC Paris next month being used to decide the next challenger. One of the four fighters in the running to challenge Chimaev has already started to have some thoughts about how he would prepare for such a task.

Robert Whittaker defends Khamzat Chimaev’s dominant performance over Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 against fans who called it boring.

UFC CEO Dana White expressed a willingness to grant Chimaev his wish if he's serious about it. If it comes to fruition, de Ridder thinks he is the correct contender to be standing on the other side of the cage.

Chimaev’s strategy against Du Plessis has been criticized by some, but not many have gone as far the champ’s longtime enemy, Paulo Costa, with their reactions. During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, the Brazilian boldly claimed that Chimaev could “kill” MMA if he repeats the manner in which he won on August 16.

Reinier de Ridder recently called for a middleweight title shot against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 321. de Ridder has been on an impressive run

Whittaker, who was quickly submitted by Chimaev at UFC 308, went on to lose his second-straight fight to Reinier de Ridder (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) last month in the UFC on ABC 9 headliner. De Ridder was able to survive a Round 3 knockdown to outlast Whittaker.

Chimaev thrashed Dricus Du Plessis in the main event of UFC 319 in Chicago, seizing the middleweight championship. As a result, Chimaev is making his debut in the ESPN pound-for-pound rankings. He was so impressive over the weekend that he surges right into the top five. For the ESPN divisional MMA rankings, click here.