Khamzat Chimaev wins middleweight belt…
CHICAGO — Khamzat Chimaev continued his dominance in the UFC, capturing the middleweight belt on Saturday night time by defeating Dricus Du Plessis by unanimous determination at UFC 319.
With a smile on his face, Chimaev (15-0) shot out of his nook in the first spherical with a takedown of Du Plessis (23-3) in the opening seconds and had Du Plessis on his back for nearly all the first spherical.
Despite the ground control by Chimaev, Du Plessis averted important harm in the first spherical.
Chimaev continued with takedowns in the second and third rounds, and Chimaev’s grappling abilities took their toll on Du Plessis in the third spherical, where Chimaev landed a sequence of blows while Du Plessis was on his back.
Chimaev continued the ground sport on Du Plessis in the fourth spherical.
Chimaev, who has alluded a championship combat since becoming a member of the UFC in 2020, gave credit to Du Plessis for difficult him.
“That guy is tough to finish. Respect that guy. (Du Plessis) was the only champion to say ‘I’m in.’ This guy has a big heart,” said Chimaev.
Du Plessis confirmed life late in the fifth spherical with a takedown and tried a guillotine, but it was too little too late.
For most of the combat, it was a full domination of the previous champ.
Khamzat Chimaev places Dricus Du Plessis into a chokehold during his unanimous determination middleweight title win at UFC 319 on Aug. 16, 2025. IMAGN IMAGES via GWN Connect
“Nobody wants to be in a crucifix getting punched in the head like that. It’s got to be the most frustrating, suck the heart and soul out of you. Just getting dominated on the ground like the way he did is no fun for everybody,” UFC president Dana White said.
All three judges scored the combat 50-44.
“At the end, I went for it, had the back. I can almost taste the victory. He beat me fair and square tonight; he was the better man tonight. I’ll be back,” said Du Plessis.
The UFC returned to Chicago for the first time in six years, making it the highest-grossing event at the United Center.
Khamzat Chimaev kicks Dricus Du Plessis during his unanimous determination middleweight title win at UFC 319 on Aug. 16. Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
The main card featured two spinning elbow first-round finishes by Carlos Prates and Lerone Murphy.
In the co-main event, Murphy (17-0-1), who took the combat on three weeks’ discover, held off an early rush from Aaron Pico (13-5) with a proper spinning elbow to end Pico’s night time with a loss in his UFC debut in the featherweight division.
Murphy, with his good end, put himself in a place to face Alex Volkanovski for the featherweight belt.
Khamzat Chimaev is interviewed by Joe Rogan after his unanimous determination middleweight title win over Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 on Aug. 16. Getty Images
Prates (22-7) gained spectacularly in the first spherical with the ninth spinning elbow end in UFC historical past by knocking out Geoff Neal (16-7), rebounding from his loss to Ian Machado Garry in April.
It was the first time Neal suffered a knockout loss. White promised Prates a combat in his home nation on Oct. 11 in Rio de Janeiro.
Michael Page (24-3) dropped Jared Cannonier (19-10) by knocking him down with a proper hand in the first spherical and despatched him back to the ground in the second spherical with a mixture to win by unanimous determination in the middleweight combat.
Timothy Elliott (22-13-1) opened the five-fight main card with a guillotine end in the second spherical over Kai Askura (21-6).
Askura had his means with Elliott most of the first spherical by outstriking the veteran, but a late takedown in the first spherical modified the momentum, main to an upset win for Elliott in the flyweight division.
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