Khamzat Chimaev

At #1 in the middleweight rankings, Khamzat Chimaev — "Borz" to fight fans — is past the "prospect" stage. This is contender territory, and every fight from here is a title eliminator in disguise.

The game is built on grappling: 5.3 takedowns per 15 minutes, and opponents spend rounds defending instead of fighting. 6 submission wins say what happens when the defense slips.

He's coming off a loss to Sean Strickland. Careers aren't defined by the fall, though; they're defined by the rebound.