Lerone Murphy stops Whittier’s Aaron Pico with a first-round spinning elbow as Chimaev wins a 50-44 unanimous decision.

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.

Unlike his two prior title defences, the build-up to Dricus du Plessis’ third title defence, against Khamzat Chimaev, has been strictly focused on the action inside the octagon.

It wasn't a big climb for Khamzat Chimaev-- he already was the No. 2-ranked middleweight -- but there's something symmetrical about his short climb to the top of the ESPN divisional rankings just days after becoming UFC champion.