Chimaev was dominant in his debut and was quickly rebooked for another Fight Island card, setting a UFC mark for fastest turnaround in just 10 days. He would go on to earn performance bonuses in each of his first five appearances, and thus the legend was solidified.

To reach the 185-pound gold, the Chechen star had to get through a pair of former UFC champions in Kamaru Usman and Robert Whittaker. Before that, Chimaev had been first targeting the welterweight title but a huge misstep on the scale brought that to an end prematurely in 2022.