A New Era Begins
- Benjamin Furnish
- Aug 18
- 6 min read
We may have witnessed the event of the year on Saturday in Chicago, Illinois. UFC 319 was the highest grossing event in the United Center’s history, along with the largest gate. When you couple that with the abundance of highlights throughout all the fights, it gives fans a lot to digest and unpack. So without further ado, let's break down the main card.
On Saturday night, the prophecy was fulfilled. Many knew Khamzat Chimaev would eventually become a UFC champion, it was just a matter of health and activity.
Chimaev put on arguably the most dominant championship performance we have ever seen. Heading into the contest, the game plan for both fighters was clear. For Chimaev, It was crucial to utilize his world-class wrestling to overwhelm Du Plessis, and that's exactly what he did. As Du Plessis said in his post fight interview, it wasn't a matter of strength or power, it was Chimaev’s ability to be in the right place at the right time.
Chimaev was one step ahead of the former champion for 25 straight minutes, securing nearly 22 minutes of control time and dominating all five rounds of the fight. Heading into the contest, critics of Chimaev pointed to his lack of cardio; the inability to push the pace for all five rounds and ultimately wavering as the contest went on. However, what we saw was a version of Chimaev that may be impossible to beat. Being on top of Du Plessis, for virtually the entire contest whether it be on his back or putting him in the crucifix position, Chimaev was constantly looking for submissions to finish the fight.
We must give credit where credit is due, and Du Plessis showed tremendous heart, lasting longer than anyone before him, and refusing to be finished. Many fans were disappointed with the former champion's performance, expressing the apparent lack of urgency shown by Du Plessis. However, as we know, if there’s one thing the South African possesses, its tremendous heart and will.
Ultimately, it came down to Du Plessis's inability to defend any of Chimaev’s takedowns. Du Plessis stated that his plan was to survive the first round or two, push the pace in the ladder rounds, and find the finish. However after the third round, it was clear that Du Plessis was frustrated, unable to get back on to his feet and utilize his kickboxing skills. All in all, it was a dominant performance from Chimaev from start to finish, and currently, it doesn’t look like there is a single middleweight on the UFC roster that can compete with him. We may be looking at a very long title reign.
Lerone Murphy showed fighters worldwide that there are truly levels to this game. Delivering a potential knockout of the year, Murphy set Chicago on fire with a spinning elbow knockout over UFC newcomer Aaron Pico.
Heading into the contest, Pico was viewed as the next star in the featherweight division. Having fought in Bellator, and found tremendous success in his tenure, fans deemed Pico as a future unbeatable champion. With sharp boxing and world class wrestling, Pico entered the contest, as the surprising heavy favourite.
On the other side, stood the undefeated, well rounded, Lerone Murphy. Murphy has taken the longest road possible to title contention, fighting killer after killer, and constantly barking for a title shot. Safe to say after this performance, he’ll get it.
Pico pushed the pace from the opening bell, looking extremely sharp and powerful. Landing big left hooks to the body, and engaging his wrestling, it looked like we finally may have gotten a successful prospect outside of the UFC. However, his aggression would be used against him. Marching forward, in a crouched stance, Pico hesitated for a split second, not knowing if he’d throw a strike or shoot for a takedown. With a fighter possessing the IQ Murphy has, that split second could separate you from consciousness. And that’s exactly what happened.
Murphy landed a perfectly timed spinning elbow, sending Pico crashing to the canvas, ending the contest. In his post fight interview, Murphy called for a title shot against current champion Alexander Volkanovski, and Volkanovski responded, confirming his desire for the matchup. As for Pico, with the strong start he demonstrated, he now has one last chance to cement himself as a featherweight contender.
In all of UFC history, there have been ten knockouts that came via spinning elbow. On Saturday night, we got two consecutively, in the first round.
Carlos Prates made a statement, becoming the first fighter to ever knockout Geoff Neal. Prates vowed to rebound from his first UFC loss against Ian Garry, and he exceeded expectations. A clear flaw in Prates style was his lack of movement. He was able to speedrun thorugh the welterweight divison with gruesome knockouts, but they often came agaisnt opponents who stood directly in front of him and traded.
So when Garry defeated Prates with sheer volume and movement, the Brazillian knew adjustments were needed.
As the fight began, it was clear Prates had fixed the defiency in his game. The Nightmare was one step of his opponent the entire round, utilizing moevment to create angles that allowed for his signature left hand to land. Along with that, Prates added kicks and knees to the body, allowing Neal's gaurd to lower.
This all cultivated in a violent spinning elbow knockout, sending Neal to the canvas.
In his post fight interview, Prates called for a quick turnaround, wanting to fight on the UFC's Rio De Janeiro card against former champion, Leon Edwards. This fight makes a lot of sense for both athletes, and stylistically, this will be as high level of a kick boxing fight as it gets.
MVP reminded fans why he’s one of the most entertaining fighters in the UFC.
This fight was the same story yet again for MVP. Page defeated Cannonier decisively by decision, utilizing his unorthodox striking to confuse and overwhelm yet another opponent.
It seems that no matter the caliber of the opponents striking, they simply cannot stand and trade with MVP, being forced to engage in the wrestling, even if that is not their patented skill.
Page secured multiple knockdowns over Cannonier, keeping himself at distance with his long reach, constantly bouncing, before launching an attack whether it be straight punches or elbows. Page encountered a brief moment of adversity in the final when he was taken down by Cannonier, but he was able to avoid submissions and reach the end of the contest, already having secured the first two rounds.
MVP stated that he wants to compete for titles in both welterweight and middleweight, and with that, an array of exciting high-stakes matchups await the Englishman.
To the shock of many, flyweight veteran Tim Elliot defeated Kai Asakura, ending the Japanese stars hype for good.
Heading into the contest, Asakura was labelled the heavy favourite. Having success as a double champion in the Japanese promotion, Rizin, Asakura was seen as the next flyweight star.
He was immidiately given a champinship fight, suffering a loss to Alexandre Pantoja. Many fans gave Asakura a pass, as Pantoja has immortilized himself as a flyweight GOAT, so many were intrested to see how Asakura would respond. He vowed to fix the holes in his game, being in the grappling department, returning as a complete fighter.
However, the story we saw on Saturday night was virtaully the same. Former title challenger Tim Elliot, at 38 years old, turned back the clock and put on a signature performance. He was able to avoid the strikes of Asakura, take him to the ground, and submit him in the second round via a guillotine choke. Elliot reminded fans that there were levels in the UFC, ultimately ending any hype Askaura carried into the fight.
Whether the UFC cuts ties with the Japanese fighter remains to be seen, but if he is given another fight, it will undoubtedly be his last chance at success in the UFC.
All in all, UFC 319 reminded everyone why this company is the premier fight organization in the world. From dominant performances to highlight knockouts, Chicago was given one of, if not the best card of the year. Fans will now have to wait another month until the next pay-per-view; UFC 320 in Las Vegas, in the rematch between Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira. If you are looking for an extensive breakdown and predictions on the main card, check out our page soon, and visit our Youtube!
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