A middleweight title fight between the unstoppable force (Khamzat Chimaev) and the immovable object (Dricus Du Plessis) headlined the UFC’s return to Chicago on Saturday. With a solid undercard that featured brilliant strikers (Michael “Venom” Page, Carlos Prates and Kai Asakura) and the debut of former Bellator MMA standout Aaron Pico, it felt like UFC 319 would be a slam dunk.
The prelims played out with several betting underdogs defying the odds, but the fights weren’t necessarily memorable. The main card was left to do the heavy lifting in the highlight department and two fighters — Prates and Lerone Murphy — will find themselves in the conversation for 2025 knockout of the year.
As for the main event, a one-sided, grappling-dominant performance over Du Plessis ushered in “The Chimaev Era,” but was that enough to carry this card to high marks?
Featherweight: Lerone Murphy vs. Aaron Pico
Result: Murphy defeats Pico by first-round KO
Grade: A
What’s better than one spinning elbow knockout? Two! But this one Murphy’s move may have been even more devastating than what Prates did one fight earlier. Pico was putting immense pressure on Murphy in the first round, landing brutal body shots. But Murphy held his ground, picked his spot and absolutely annihilated Pico with an elbow. There was once a logjam of contenders for Alexander Volkanovski’s featherweight title. Not anymore. Murphy is deserving of that opportunity with this knockout of the year contender.
Welterweight: Geoff Neal vs. Carlos Prates
Result: Prates defeats Neal by first-round KO
Grade: A-
After suffering his first loss in April to Ian Machado Garry, Prates reminded everyone why he is one of the UFC’s smoothest and most devastating strikers. Prates was poetry at its most violent as he carved up Neal with ease. Neal gave it all he had but ended up on the wrong end of a beautifully placed spinning elbow by Prates. Go out of your way to watch this excellent display of striking. .
Middleweight: Baisangur Susurkaev vs. Eric Nolan
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Baisangur Susurkaev improves to 9-0 after a 2nd round submission
Baysangur Susurkaev locks in the rear-naked chokehold on Eric Nolan to remain undefeated.
Result: Susurkaev defeats Nolan by second-round submission
Grade: B
Susurkaev’s playful antics nearly cost him, as Nolan badly hurt him at the end of the first round. But Susurkaev went to work in Round 2 and nearly took out Nolan with leg kicks before dragging the fight to the canvas and overwhelming Nolan before sinking in a rear-naked choke. What’s more impressive is that Susurkaev did all that after winning a fight four days before on “Dana White’s Contender Series.” This was a fun fight, and Susurkaev could be a special talent on the rise in the middleweight division.
Flyweight: Tim Elliott vs. Kai Asakura
Result: Elliott defeats Asakura by second-round submission
Grade: B
Well, this was fun to watch. The old dog (Elliott) still has a few tricks left in him as he put his grappling to work with a second-round submission. Asakura had the clear advantage in speed and power but Elliott was crafty and picked his spots. A takedown in the first round put Asakura on notice and prevented him from getting comfortable with his striking. Elliott, 38, took advantage of his tentative opponent, secured a takedown in Round 2 and worked his way to a guillotine choke. This fight was the exact opposite of Oleksiejczuk’s knockout of Meershaert earlier on the card, where the grappler had no answers for the striker. Elliott did everything right and got the job done. Check this one out.
Men’s flyweight: Joseph Morales vs. Alibi Idiris
Result: Morales defeats Idiris by second-round submission
Grade: B-
Morales set the tone for the underdogs at UFC 319 by submitting heavy betting favorite Idiris in the “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 33 flyweight tournament final. If you enjoy a good grappling exhibition, you’ll love watching Morales work over Idiris with wrestling and submission attempts. Eventually, Morales pulled away and ended Idiris’ undefeated record by expertly slapping on a triangle choke in Round 2.
Lightweight: Chase Hooper vs. Alexander Hernandez
Result: Hernandez defeats Hooper by first-round TKO
Grade: B-
This was a perfect example of a fighter needing to defend himself at all times, as Hooper fell asleep at the wheel with seconds left in the round and woke up to find himself on the wrong side of a knockout. Hooper had shown much improved striking in recent fights but got a little too comfortable against the heavy-handed Hernandez. With under 10seconds left in the first round, Hernandez pulled off the upset with a perfectly timed counter right hand that completely wrecked Hooper. It was a stunning buzzer-beater that few saw coming.
Middleweight: Gerald Meerschaert vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
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Michal Oleksiejczuk finishes Gerald Meerschaert in the 1st round
Michal Oleksiejczuk drops Gerald Meerschaert with a left hook, then dominates him on the ground for the knockout.
Result: Oleksiejczuk defeats Meerschaert by first-round TKO
Grade: B-
Oleksiejczuk’s move to The Fighting Nerds camp is paying off. He was already a solid striker but looked exceptional against Meerschaert. A lot of that certainly had to do with Meerschaert’s deficiencies in the standup. Oleksiejczuk repeatedly bounced punches off of Meerschaert’s head until he sank to the canvas. This was a one-sided beating but worth watching.
Lightweight: Edson Barboza vs. Drakkar Klose
Result: Klose defeats Barboza by unanimous decision
Grade: C+
Barboza started fast with his trademark striking but began to age in dog years as the minutes ticked off the clock. Years ago, Barboza would have swept away Klose with relative ease. But in 2025, the combination of Barboza’s 39 years of age and Klose’s relentless pressure caused Barboza to wilt in the final round. This was easily one of the biggest wins of Klose’s career but not terribly entertaining.
Middleweight: Dricus Du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev
Result: Chimaev defeats Du Plessis by unanimous decision
Grade: C
This was a difficult fight of the night to grade. Chimaev’s grappling dominance led to one of the most one-sided decisions in UFC championship history. However, these grades speak specifically to the entertainment value of the fights. This was not a fight many will want to watch again. While impressive, Chimaev’s ground control led to long stretches that lacked action and drama. We may be entering “The Chimaev Era,” but this fight will be better to talk about rather than watch again.
Strawweight: Jessica Andrade vs. Loopy Godínez
Result: Godinez defeats Andrade by unanimous decision
Grade: C
Andrade resorted to charging at Godinez and winging hooks in hopes that she could eventually overwhelm her opponent. Godinez was faster and sharper, mixing fists and feet to keep Andrade from gaining momentum. Andrade finally began to break through in the final round but simply ran out of time. It was a fine fight, and Godinez picked up the biggest win of her UFC career, but you don’t have to go out of your way to rewatch it, unless you want to see a fight in which speed thwarts strength.
Women’s flyweight: Karine Silva vs. Dione Barbosa
Result: Silva defeats Barbosa by unanimous decision
Grade: C-
The most significant thing about this fight was the decision. The fans at the United Center voiced that Barbosa had done enough to win, but all three judges disagreed. Barbosa easily won the first round with slick grappling that nearly earned her a submission finish, but the judges gave a pivotal second round to Silva and then Silva took Round 3 by walking down Barbosa. It’s worth seeing to score the fight for yourself.
Middleweight: Jared Cannonier vs. Michael “Venom” Page
Result: Page defeats Cannonier by unanimous decision
Grade: C-
This fight was frustrating to watch. Cannonier had nothing for Page in the striking department and resorted to desperate attempts to get the fight to the canvas. That led to a fight that chugged along slowly, with MVP showing flashes of brilliance between showboating and a beautiful right hand that put Cannonier down in the first round. But the thrilling moments were far and few in between. Cannonier got his moment when Page threw an ill-timed Superman punch that brought the fight to the canvas in the third round. But “Tha Killa Gorilla” did absolutely nothing with it, as Page survived to take a unanimous decision. MVP will have plenty of fun fights in his career, but this won’t be remembered among them.
UFC 319 Grade: B-
A relatively average fight card was rescued by back-to-back spinning elbow knockouts delivered by Prates and Murphy. Unfortunately, the main event was uneventful, even though Chimaev put together one of the most commanding grappling exhibitions in a title fight. The rest of this card — Outside of Murphy and Prates, the UFC 319 card will be easily forgotten by year’s end.
