UFC 319: 'TUF 33' finalist Alibi Idiris media day interview
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
10 Biggest UFC 319 Winners and Losers, Including the New King of 185-Pounds Khamzat Chimaev
On Saturday night, the UFC returned to pay-per-view with UFC 319 at the United Center in Chicago, IL. The card featured several nasty knockout wins and fast-rising star Khamzat Chimaev attempting to win UFC gold for the first time. Let's look at the 10 biggest winners and losers from the much-hyped event. Khamzat Chimaev Utter domination. That is all you can say about Khamzat Chimaev. He was a sizable favorite going into the bout and proved why. Dricus Du Plessis had absolutely no answers for the young star and was mauled for five rounds. Whle he did not get the finish, 'Borz' showed why he is one of the scariest fighters in the UFC right now. Dricus Du Plessis Du Plessis was a big underdog going into the UFC 319 main event, and he did not prove odds makers wrong. As always, the South African showed tons of toughness and grit, and never lost confidence in himself. However, he was completely overwhelmed by the wave of dominance that is the new champion's wrestling attack. He had no answer for the challenger on Saturday and won't get an immediate rematch after that performance. Winner: Lerone Murphy Despite being an elite featherweight, Lerone Murphy was surprisingly an underdog in his UFC 319 clash against newcomer Aaron Pico. While he seemed overwhelmed early, he absolutely quieted all the doubters with one of the best KOs of 2025 in the co-main event. The Englishman should be in line for a title fight in his Octagon return. Loser: Aaron Pico Aaron Pico is a very talented athlete. It is why the world-class wrestler was hyped as the next great star in the sport when he turned pro in 2017. During his career, he has delivered highlight reel moments, for better and worse. The worst showed up again at UFC 319. After looking very good early against Lerone Murphy, he got hit with a nasty spinning back elbow that put him to sleep immediately. He was finished in Round 1 in his MMA debut, and gets similar treatment in his UFC debut. Winner: Carlos Prates Carlos Prates has been outstanding inside the Octagon. While he lost to fellow rising star Ian Machado Garry in April, he fought well and impressed fans. At UFC 319, he was able to bounce back from the setback with a devastating KO win over veteran Geoff Neal. He is now 5-1 in the UFC with all of them being knockouts. The Brazilian is turning into one of the division's most exciting fighters. Loser: Jared Cannonier Jared Cannonier has been an elite fighter in the middleweight division for the last five years. However, age is the greatest enemy of fighters, and Father Time never loses. While Cannonier was nearly able to steal a win late against Michael Page, he still came up short. He has now lost three of his last four, and this confirmed his days as a title contender are officially over. Winner & Loser: Michael Page Former Bellator star Michael Page looked good over the first round and a half of his clash with Jared Cannonier. And it seemed like he might cruise to an easy win. However, his consistent weakness when it comes to his grappling reared its head again on Saturday. While he was able to eke out the victory, he was very close to blowing a big win at UFC 319. Loser: Kai Asakura Kai Asakura had a lot of hype behind him when he entered the UFC last year. When he took an L to reigning champ Alexandre Pantoja in his debut, it was understandable. However, his submission loss to Tim Elliott at UFC 319 was a stunning outcome. It will have many wondering if he is capable of making an impact in the Octagon. Winner: Tim Elliott Veteran flyweight was a sizable underdog heading into his fight Kai Asakura. And early on, those numbers seemed warranted as the Japanese fighter's hand speed was giving him serious trouble. However, he used what made him a star and pushed forward and used his grappling. Eventually, he scored a big takedown and was able to lock in a fight-ending Guillotine choke. It was a massive win for the 38-year-old that should get him back into our UFC flyweight top 10. Loser: Jessica Andrade Jessica Andrade is a UFC strawweight legend. However, like many greats before her, she is in the midst of a nasty career decline. On Saturday night, she was handed a third straight loss by Loopy Godinez. She has now come up short in six of her last eight, and four times she has been finished. At 33, the 41 fight veteran may need to consider retirement or put her long-term health in more jeopardy.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Dricus Du Plessis: Khamzat Chimaev 'beat me fair and square' at UFC 319
True character is shown in moments of adversity, and Dricus Du Plessis was nothing short of class in the aftermath of his losing the middleweight title to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319. Du Plessis (23-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) found himself helpless for almost the entire of the 25-minute headliner on Saturday at United Center in Chicago, with Chimaev (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) successfully stifling him and, outside of a scare in the final round, dominating to a unanimous decision for gold. It was not the performance Du Plessis wanted or expected, but he gave full credit to Chimaev for his overwhelming grappling ability. "The man has incredible control on the top," Du Plessis told Joe Rogan in the octagon post-fight at UFC 319. "He's just like a blanket. It wasn't a matter of strength. It wasn't that physical, it was almost as if he knew what your next move is going to be. He got it without using too much power and I had to decide, am I going to be on my back or have him on my back? At the end I went for it, had the back. I could almost taste that victory but big ups to Khamzat." The result at UFC 319 marked the first time Du Plessis tasted defeat since October 2018, which dates back prior to the start of his promotional tenure. His run to the top of the division with two title defenses was a solid one, but now he must enter a new reality. Du Plessis vowed to improve from the fight and return better for a run at a second title reign, but for now, he graciously paid respect to the new champion. "He deserves this 100 percent," Du Plessis said. "He beat me fair and square tonight. He was the better man tonight and I'll be back, and I'm coming to get my belt back. But for now it's his and he deserves it. … I'll be back stronger and better than ever."
USA Today
3 hours 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.
