logo
Video: UFC 319 full card final faceoffs with Aaron Pico debut, 'MVP' and much more

Video: UFC 319 full card final faceoffs with Aaron Pico debut, 'MVP' and much more

USA Todaya day ago
CHICAGO - UFC 319 ceremonial weigh-ins are in the books, and the fighters came face-to-face one final time before Saturday's event.
The weigh-ins took place United Center in Illinois, which hosts the card (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
UFC 319 is built around a middleweight title bout with Dricus Du Plessis (23-2 MMA, 9-0 UFC) and Khamzat Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC), who meet at the top of the card.
That's not all, though. The main card also includes Lerone Murphy (16-0-1 MMA, 8-0-1 UFC) and the debuting Aaron Pico (13-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC), Geoff Neal (16-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) vs. Carlos Prates (21-7 MMA, 4-1 UFC), Jared Cannonier (18-8 MMA, 11-8 UFC) vs. Michael Page (23-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and a plethora of other bouts including former UFC champions and title challengers.
Check out the video above to see highlights of the ceremonial weigh-in staredowns from the 13 scheduled bouts at UFC 319.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

UFC 319 bonuses: Back-to-back spinning elbows take home $50,000 in Chicago
UFC 319 bonuses: Back-to-back spinning elbows take home $50,000 in Chicago

USA Today

timean hour ago

  • USA Today

UFC 319 bonuses: Back-to-back spinning elbows take home $50,000 in Chicago

The UFC handed out four bonuses after Saturday's card in the 'Windy City,' and all four went to fighters on the main card. After UFC 319, four fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances at United Center in Chicago. Check out the winners below. Performance of the Night: Tim Elliott Fighting for the first time in 20 months, Tim Elliott (21-14-1 MMA, 10-11 UFC) looked like someone ready to make some moves at flyweight with a second-round submission of former Rizin champion Kai Asakura (21-6 MMA, 0-2 UFC) to open up the main card. Elliott caught Asakura with a brilliant guillotine choke for his second straight submission win. Performance of the Night: Carlos Prates In a rarity, Carlos Prates (22-7 MMA, 5-1 UFC) found out while he was in the cage still after his first-round knockout of Geoff Neal (16-7 MMA, 8-5 UFC) that he was getting a bonus. He used his microphone time to tout his birthday (Sunday) and his dramatic spinning elbow knockout with one second left in the opening round – and Dana White obliged with the bonus before even seeing the rest of the card. What's crazy is, Prates' spinning back elbow KO was great – but not even the best one of the night. Performance of the Night: Lerone Murphy Lerone Murphy (17-0-1 MMA, 9-0-1 UFC) was a betting underdog against former Bellator standout Aaron Pico (13-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who was making his UFC debut. But Murphy left no doubt when he drilled Pico with a spinning back elbow that had him out on the canvas for a scary long time. Performance of the Night: Khamzat Chimaev In one of the most dominant title fight performances in UFC history, Khamzat Chimaev (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) easily took the middleweight belt from Dricus Du Plessis (23-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) with a 50-44 sweep of the scorecards.

UFC 319 takeaways: Khamzat Chimaev flings Dricus du Plessis around with the greatest of ease
UFC 319 takeaways: Khamzat Chimaev flings Dricus du Plessis around with the greatest of ease

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

UFC 319 takeaways: Khamzat Chimaev flings Dricus du Plessis around with the greatest of ease

UFC 319 brought us the changing of the guard in the middleweight division, as Khamzat Chimaev dominated Dricus du Plessis to claim the UFC 185-pound title. But that's not the only noteworthy action to come out of Saturday's pay-per-view event in Chicago. Here are the top five takeaways from UFC 319 at the United Center: 1. Khamzat Chimaev just became UFC middleweight champ while fighting like your school's cruelest wrestling coach. He took Dricus du Plessis down at will and smothered him with an ease that was almost apologetic. In the entire history of UFC title fights, I'm not sure we've seen a fight that was that long yet that one-sided. Most people absorb more strikes changing an unruly baby's diaper than Chimaev absorbed in five championship rounds. The only problem is that when you do all that and never really even come close to finishing the fight, well, you don't make many new fans. The same people who cheered Chimaev earlier in the week were booing him by the time he gave his victory speech. Then again, here's where we have to start asking ourselves if that even matters anymore. Chimaev has the belt. We've yet to see anyone at middleweight who's seemed like they might be capable of taking it from him. Selling pay-per-views will no longer be a concern beginning with the new Paramount deal. So what does Chimaev care if people like his brand of dominance or not? Any man who can get in and out of a big time title fight like that while putting himself at so little risk is probably not going to be convinced to do otherwise by a bunch of boos. 2. Chimaev looked for it everywhere but still could not find the quit in DDP. There was a moment midway through this fight when, having clearly established his dominance on that mat, Chimaev slapped on a rear-naked choke. A lot of fighters — even many celebrated champions — might have been demoralized enough by then to let him have it. But du Plessis not only fought through it, he was still there giving it all he had in the final minute of the final round. He even took Chimaev's back and threatened with a choke of his own in the final 60 seconds. I know that's bound to be little comfort to him now. And you don't get much credit in this sport for losing (and losing so, so thoroughly) with grit and dignity. But it does seem like we've all been watching DDP win so many fights while wondering how he keeps doing it despite never looking like he's really all that good. In a way, even though he lost decisively here, I think we got some glimpses of the answer to that question. 3. We knew the Bellator/PFL imports have had it rough in their UFC debuts, but rough doesn't even begin to describe what happened to Aaron Pico. He started out all aggression and forward pressure, as he's known to do. But that also made him entirely too predictable, so that as soon as Lerone Murphy got a little space to work he could count on Pico charging straight into that spinning back elbow. That's a very big win for Murphy, who's somehow struggled to get fans to remember him despite being incredibly good. Flatlining a guy like Pico in a spot like this is a good way to change that. But it also makes you wonder where Pico goes from here. The promise of potential can only carry you so far, and for so long. Lots of fighters have rebounded from bad UFC debuts to have great UFC careers. But I can't think of any who did it after getting slept like that the first time out. 4. Imagine being Carlos Prates after the spinning elbow knockout of Geoff Neal. Imagine basking in the cheers as you walk from the cage after a glorious return to the win column. Imagine walking all the way down that aisle, through the curtain, past all the other fighters and various backstage attendants, all the way out to the loading dock of the United Center where you can finally stand in the halo of a buzzing outdoor light next to a stinking green dumpster and light up that first post-fight cigarette. I don't even smoke and that somehow sounds good. Prates needed that rebound win even worse than he needed that post-fight smoke. A highlight reel finish is a great way to make people forget about what was honestly a pretty forgivable loss. 5. Apparently nobody told Tim Elliott that his job was to lose and help Kai Asakura look good. The gentleman of a certain age went out there and fought like he simply didn't know he was one of the night's biggest underdogs. And when he locked up that guillotine choke you could almost see it on Asakura's face (there beneath the wincing and the struggling) as he seemed to wonder, hey wasn't this supposed to be when I got my first UFC win after being thrown to the champ in my first fight? Elliott is 38 and deep into his second stint with the UFC, so you can't tell me the matchmakers put him into this fight hoping it would be a shot in the arm for his career. He was there to be comeback fodder for Asakura, and he simply wasn't having it. If you don't love to see a savvy old dog pull off a win in those situations, you're just a young whippersnapper who doesn't understand … yet.

UFC 319: Khamzat Chimaev wins middleweight belt by unanimous decision over Dricus Du Plessis
UFC 319: Khamzat Chimaev wins middleweight belt by unanimous decision over Dricus Du Plessis

New York Post

timean hour ago

  • New York Post

UFC 319: Khamzat Chimaev wins middleweight belt by unanimous decision over Dricus Du Plessis

CHICAGO — Khamzat Chimaev continued his dominance in the UFC, capturing the middleweight belt on Saturday night by defeating Dricus Du Plessis by unanimous decision at UFC 319. With a smile on his face, Chimaev (15-0) shot out of his corner in the first round with a takedown of Du Plessis (23-3) in the opening seconds and had Du Plessis on his back for almost the entire first round. Advertisement Despite the ground control by Chimaev, Du Plessis avoided significant damage in the first round. Chimaev continued with takedowns in the second and third rounds, and Chimaev's grappling skills took their toll on Du Plessis in the third round, where Chimaev landed a series of blows while Du Plessis was on his back. Chimaev continued the ground game on Du Plessis in the fourth round. Advertisement Chimaev, who has alluded a championship fight since joining the UFC in 2020, gave credit to Du Plessis for challenging 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 showed life late in the fifth round with a takedown and attempted a guillotine, but it was too little too late. For most of the fight, it was a complete domination of the former champ. Advertisement 3 Khamzat Chimaev puts Dricus Du Plessis into a chokehold during his unanimous decision middleweight title win at UFC 319 on Aug. 16, 2025. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters 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 fight 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. Advertisement The UFC returned to Chicago for the first time in six years, making it the highest-grossing event at the United Center. 3 Khamzat Chimaev kicks Dricus Du Plessis during his unanimous decision 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 fight on three weeks' notice, held off an early rush from Aaron Pico (13-5) with a right spinning elbow to end Pico's night with a loss in his UFC debut in the featherweight division. Murphy, with his brilliant finish, put himself in a position to face Alex Volkanovski for the featherweight belt. 3 Khamzat Chimaev is interviewed by Joe Rogan after his unanimous decision middleweight title win over Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 on Aug. 16. Getty Images Prates (22-7) won spectacularly in the first round with the ninth spinning elbow finish in UFC history 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 fight in his home country on Oct. 11 in Rio de Janeiro. Advertisement Michael Page (24-3) dropped Jared Cannonier (19-10) by knocking him down with a right hand in the first round and sent him back to the ground in the second round with a combination to win by unanimous decision in the middleweight fight. Timothy Elliott (22-13-1) opened the five-fight main card with a guillotine finish in the second round over Kai Askura (21-6). Askura had his way with Elliott most of the first round by outstriking the veteran, but a late takedown in the first round changed the momentum, leading to an upset win for Elliott in the flyweight division.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store