UFC 319 fight week continues. While MMA’s No. 1 promotion heads to the Windy City of Chicago and the United Center for its August premium live event, not all is merriment when it comes to Dana White’s organization.
In the run-up to Saturday night’s show, two planned fights have gotten postponed from the schedule of 13 fights. This year’s Ultimate Fighter welterweight final matching Rodrigo Sezinando with Danil Donchenko is now off of the card, as is the featured UFC 319 prelim between King Green and Diego Ferreira.
The UFC officially confirmed the changes to the bout order for Saturday night’s card earlier Thursday and added the promotional debut of Baysangur Susurkaev (9-0 MMA) against Eric Nolan (8-3 MMA) to the undercard. Susurkaev just won his UFC contract this past Tuesday at DWCS 77.
As far as the card is concerned as a whole, live coverage of UFC 319 begins Saturday evening at 6 pm ET/ 3 pm PT. If you’re watching from inside the United States, you can access this portion of the card on both UFC Fight Pass and ESPN+.
Late prelims continue the show at 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT on ESPN and ESPN+, before the main card caps the night at 10 pm ET/ 7 pm PT on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
UFC 319 Main Event: UFC Middleweight Championship: [C] Dricus du Plessis vs. No. 3 Contender Khamzat Chimaev
At the top of the bill on Saturday night, the UFC Middleweight Championship is on the line. Current titleholder Dricus du Plessis (23-2 MMA, 9-0 UFC) squares off against undefeated No. 3 contender Khamzat Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC.)
As with all UFC main events, this title fight at UFC 319 is an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round to close out the night’s activities. Champion du Plessis has posted a record of 5-0 in his last five fights as part of an ongoing 11-bout winning streak.
This past February, he took Sean Strickland (29-7 MMA, 16-7 UFC) to the scorecards in a rematch during the UFC 312 main event, winning by unanimous decision. While “Stillknocks” is 31 years of age, he’s setting foot in Chicago to prove that age is only a number.
Across the way, Khamzat Chimaev, a teammate of the debuting Baysangur Susurkaev, has yet to lose in his professional career. Like his teammate, Chimaev has also taken a short-notice bout, fighting for the second time in the UFC just a mere 10 days after debuting on Fight Island in 2020.
Last October, the undefeated Chimaev submitted Robert Whittaker (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) with a face crank in the opening round of their fight in UFC 308. Can he complete his rise to the top?
UFC 319 Co-Main Event: No. 6 Contender Lerone Murphy vs. Aaron Pico
Immediately beforehand, featherweight action takes place in the co-headliner of UFC 319 when No. 6 contender Lerone Murphy (16-0-1 MMA, 8-0-1 UFC) collides with former Bellator MMA stalwart Aaron Pico (13-4 MMA, UFC promotional debut.) This is an advertised three-round contest at five minutes per round.
Murphy will be making the walk sporting a 5-0 record, coming into UFC 319 still as an undefeated fighter. Back on April 5, he scored a unanimous decision win over Josh Emmett (19-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC.) This is a crucial fight for Murphy and his camp.
A win on Saturday night in the UFC 319 co-main event would put him on the doorstep of a UFC Featherweight Championship opportunity. Can he keep his undefeated run going?
Meanwhile, Aaron Pico makes his UFC debut after a three-week delay, going 4-1 in his five latest fights. A year ago, he scored a first-round knockout by way of ground and pound versus Henry Corrales (21-8 MMA) in PFL vs. Bellator.
Last month, he was to make his first walk to the fabled Octagon against Movsar Evloev, but the fight was scrapped prior to the card after the latter withdrew due to sustaining an injury while training for the contest.
Not long after the Evloev fight was canceled, Pico took to Instagram to offer his well-wishes for his now former opponent and express hope that he’d be able to do battle this coming Saturday. Now that he’s debuting over the weekend, expect him to fight with frustration after a nearly 18-month hiatus in Chicago.
UFC 319: No. 11 Contender Geoff Neal vs. No. 12 Contender Carlos Prates
Also on the UFC 319 main card, you’ll be seeing a welterweight confrontation matching No. 11 contender Geoff Neal (16-6 MMA, 6-4 UFC) against No. 12 contender Carlos Prates (21-7 MMA, 4-1 UFC.) This is a rescheduling of a postponed contest from April 12 in Miami.
The fight was scrubbed ahead of UFC 314 due to the former bowing out of the show after injuring his elbow. Coming into this rebooking, Neal has a 3-2 record over his five most recent fights.
Back in October of 2024, he scored a first-round TKO after his opponent, Rafael dos Anjos (32-17 MMA, 17-15 UFC), could not proceed in the fight due to a leg injury. With Neal now having been afforded a clean bill of health, can he make it two wins in a row?
In the other corner, Prates comes in on a 4-1 clip in his past five appearances. Last time out, he saw an 11-fight winning streak in MMA end with a unanimous decision defeat to Ian Machado Garry (16-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) during the April 26 UFC Fight Night in Kansas City, KS.
While a fighter is dangerous when he or she is on a hot streak, said fighter can be equally dangerous when coming into a fight right after sustaining a loss Only time will tell, however, if Prates makes a return to the win column?
Final Thoughts
Which fight or fights on the UFC 319 main card are you looking forward to on Saturday night? Let us know in the comments.
