Top Reasons to Catch UFC 319

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Doubt once again casts its shadow over Dricus Du Plessis.

The 31-year-old South African will defend the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight title when he faces the unbeaten Khamzat Chimaev in the UFC 319 headliner on Saturday at the United Center in Chicago. Du Plessis enters the cage on the strength of an 11-fight winning streak. He last suited up at UFC 312, where he took a five-round unanimous decision from Sean Strickland in their Feb. 8 rematch. Du Plessis, who has not experienced a setback in almost seven years, nevertheless steps into his latest assignment as a betting underdog. Chimaev, meanwhile, has established himself as one of the sport’s most intriguing and mercurial characters. He last saw action on Oct. 26, when he put away Robert Whittaker with a vicious face crank and improved to 14-0 a little less than four minutes into their UFC 308 confrontation. It was the ninth first-round finish of Chimaev’s career.

In addition to the high-stakes Du Plessis-Chimaev showdown at 185 pounds, here are three other reasons to catch UFC 319:

Baptism by Fire

Aaron Pico grew accustomed to hype as a can’t-miss prospect in Bellator MMA long ago. Now eight-plus years into his mixed martial arts journey, the Jackson-Wink MMA rep makes his hotly anticipated Octagon debut opposite the undefeated Lerone Murphy in the featherweight co-main event. Pico, 28, has rattled off three consecutive victories. He last competed under the Professional Fighters League banner in February, when he avenged a 2019 loss to Henry Corrales with a first-round technical knockout of the former two-division King of the Cage champion. On the other side of the equation, Murphy has carved out a path into the Top 10 at 145 pounds. The well-rounded 34-year-old Manchester Top Team boasts an eight-fight winning streak that includes five-round decisions over ex-Ring of Combat titleholder Edson Barboza and Team Alpha Male mainstay Josh Emmett. A September 2019 split draw with Zubaira Tukhugov remains the only blemish on the Murphy resume.

Character Building

Adversity finally took a bite out of Carlos Prates. The Fighting Nerds star attempts to rebound from his first defeat in nearly six years when he confronts Geoff Neal in a welterweight showcase that promises fireworks. Prates, 31, has posted 11 wins across his past 12 outings but finds himself on the rebound following a 25-minute decision loss to Ian Garry at UFC on ESPN 66 in April. “The Nightmare” still holds a reputation as one of the most ferocious finishers in the 170-pound weight class, having delivered 19 of his 21 career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission. Neal, meanwhile, sports an 8-4 record in the UFC. He last fought at UFC 308, where he was awarded a technical knockout over Rafael dos Anjos after the Brazilian suffered a knee injury just 90 seconds into their Oct. 26 encounter. Wins over Brian Camozzi, Frank Camacho, Belal Muhammad, Niko Price, Mike Perry, Santiago Ponzinibbio and Vicente Luque highlight Neal’s handiwork since he graduated from Dana White’s Contender Series in 2017.

Pick a Poison

Even the most jaded observer would probably call Michael Page appointment viewing. The flashy British karateka aims to break into the middleweight rankings when he toes the line against Jared Cannonier in a featured attraction at 185 pounds. Page, 38, has won two of his first three bouts since joining the UFC roster in 2024. The London Shootfighters standout last appeared on Feb. 1, when he laid claim to a three-round unanimous decision over Sharabutdin Magomedov at UFC Fight Night 250. Only three men have beaten Page: the aforementioned Garry, Logan Storley and three-time Bellator champion Douglas Lima. On the other side of the ledger, Cannonier continues to function at a high level despite having turned 41 in March. The heavy-handed MMA Lab rep last strapped on the gloves at UFC Fight Night 251, where he rebounded from back-to-back losses to Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho with a fourth-round technical knockout of former Legacy Fighting Alliance titleholder Gregory Rodrigues on Feb. 15. Cannonier has recorded victories in three UFC weight classes: heavyweight, light heavyweight and middleweight.