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The Middleweight Division | 2026 Preview
Khamzat Chimaev Heads Into 2026 As The King Of The Middleweights, And Several Contenders Are Primed To Challenge His Reign
After Israel Adesanya more or less held court at the top of the middleweight division from 2019 to 2023, the middleweight division has gone through a real changing of the guard over the last handful of years. Three different fighters have grabbed hold of the title since Adesanya’s knockout win over Alex Pereira in April 2023. Khamzat Chimaev most recently staked his claim on the title with a dominant win over Dricus Du Plessis in Chicago, but a handful of 185ers appear primed to challenge the freshly crowned champion.
To stamp the sea change, none of the middleweight champions previous to Du Plessis still competing in the division (Adesanya, Sean Strickland, and Robert Whittaker), picked up a victory in 2025. A new era is truly upon the weight class’s title picture, which should make for a wildly interesting battle at the top in 2026.
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Title Picture
Champion: Khamzat Chimaev
Contenders: Nassourdine Imavov, Sean Strickland, Dricus Du Plessis, Anthony Hernandez, Brendan Allen
Ones to Watch: Caio Borralho, Reinier De Ridder, Gregory Rodrigues, Joe Pyfer
Outlook for 2026: It may have taken a little longer than some predicted when Chimaev first burst onto the scene in 2020, but “Borz” got his hands on UFC gold with a dominant win over Du Plessis at UFC 319. The undefeated marauder took home the decision with nary a scratch on his face, and it’s now his turn to enact his reign of terror on the division. However, Chimaev has already speculated on how soon he’ll make that first defense, leaving some frustrated and others curious as to how the division will shake out in the time being.
Perhaps most left out in the cold because of this is Nassourdine Imavov, who started his 2025 with an electric second-round knockout of Adesanya in Saudi Arabia. He followed that up with a cool and composed decision win in Paris over Caio Borralho to distinguish himself as the top contender in the division. With a 5-fight winning streak in tow, the French representative is in the thick of his prime at 29 years old and has every right to feel a claim on the next title shot. Whether he is happy to wait for that chance is left to be seen, but time is on his side if he chooses to do so.
Former champions Strickland and Du Plessis will likely have to secure a win before getting back into the discussion for a title shot, although Strickland has a clearer path, having not fought Chimaev already. That said, Strickland fought just once in 2025, so the 34-year-old sort of has to recement his place in the pecking order and can do so when he faces Anthony Hernandez in Houston. For Du Plessis, the churn of contenders at the top is to his benefit as he could face one of the newer faces in the top half of the heap and get back into contention quickly as well.
As far as momentum goes, perhaps no fighter outside of Imavov has more in the division than Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez. The Dana White’s Contender Series alumnus extended his winning streak to eight in 2025 with a decision win over Brendan Allen and a vicious submission victory over Roman Dolidze. Progressively, he has developed a sort of cult following that adores his in-your-face, nonstop style and no-nonsense attitude. To describe it more bluntly, fans love the fact that he fights like a sicko. Hernandez was scheduled to face Reinier de Ridder in a main event in Vancouver before injury knocked him out for the rest of the year, but he’ll get his chance at that major victory when he faces Strickland in the main event on February 21.
Allen bounced back from his loss to Hernandez with a decision win over Marvin Vettori in his home state of Louisiana before stepping in for Hernandez and stopping de Ridder in Vancouver. The latter was a major moment for Allen, a big-time win in a situation he may have previously faltered. At 30 years old, he seems to have tapped into his potential and heads into 2026 perhaps a couple wins from title contention.
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Borralho and de Ridder are in similar spots, having cultivated a lot of buzz in 2025 before stumbling to end the year, which makes their March 7 booking against each other intriguing and important. Borralho suffered his first loss in eight Octagon appearances when he fell short against Imavov, while “RDR” saw his momentum evaporate in Vancouver. However, a win in March would return them to the title picture and in search of a No. 1 contender bout.
In the midst of all the new contenders on the middleweight horizon, knockout artists Gregory Rodrigues and Joe Pyfer ended 2025 strongly. “Robocop” bounced back from his main event loss to Jared Cannonier with a stunning knockout of Jack Hermansson at UFC 317. He followed that with a steady and strong win over Roman Kopylov at UFC 322, proving he very much belongs with Top-15 competition. Pyfer had a bumpy start to 2025 after he needed to pull out of his fight with Kelvin Gastelum in Mexico City, but he took home a decision win over the UFC Hall of Fame member when they rebooked the fight for UFC 316. He got back to his finishing ways when he submitted Abus Magomed at UFC 320, and the 29-year-old seems to be rapidly improving and adjusting to life in and out of the Octagon as he continues as a name to watch.
Other Names to Track: Brunno Ferreira, Ikram Aliskerov, Christian Leroy Duncan
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