UFC 319 fight week is here. Saturday night, one week removed from the promotion’s second straight card inside the UFC Apex, Dana White and company head back on the road to stay for a long while.
Saturday’s card also marks the UFC’s first card since Monday morning’s shocking reveal that the promotion would be moving away from ESPN and ESPN+ to Paramount+ and CBS in a $7.7 billion (USD) deal over the course of the next seven years, beginning in 2026.
UFC 319, along with all other UFC events, will continue to be aired and streamed on the Disney-owned platforms through the end of the promotion’s 2025 schedule in December. As far as this week’s event is concerned. United Center in Chicago is the site for Saturday’s card.
Live coverage of UFC 319 begins with the early prelims, including the finals of this season of The Ultimate Fighter television series, at 6 pm ET/ 3 pm PT. Inside the United States, along with streaming on the aforementioned ESPN+, this portion of the show is accessible through UFC Fight Pass.
Late prelims follow at 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT on ESPN and ESPN+, before the evening is capped off by the main card at 10 pm ET/ 7 pm PT on pay-per-view. If there are no adjustments to the bout order at UFC 319, you’ll be treated to 14 fights Saturday night.
UFC 319 Featured Prelim: King Green vs. Diego Ferreira
At the top of the bill for the undercard on Saturday night, the lightweights take to the fabled Octagon when Bobby (King) Green (37-12-1, 1 NC MMA, 13-12-1, 1 NC UFC) takes on Diego Ferreira (19-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC.) All fights mentioned herein are an advertised maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round.
Green enters UFC 319 with a 2-3 record in his last five contests. At the moment, he’s dropped two fights in succession.
On March 8, he sustained a first-round knockout loss to Mauricio Ruffy (12-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC,) a 2023 graduate of Dana White’s Contender Series. Green mentioned that he had no intentions of retiring from the UFC after his defeat late last winter.
If he loses here in UFC 319, which serves as his 62nd career appearance, he may have some thinking to do about his future as a fighter.
Across the way, Diego Ferreira is sporting a mark of 2-3 in his own right over the past five bouts. Much like his opponent, Ferreira is also reeling from a defeat in his latest contest. Back on Jan. 18 in southern California, he saw his two-fight winning streak end at the hands of Grant Dawson (23-2-1 MMA, 11-1-1 UFC) by way of unanimous decision.
This is Ferreira’s 26th career walk to an MMA cage as a professional competitor, compared to the 62nd walk to the cage awaiting King Green on Saturday night in the Windy City. Will he triumph over a seasoned veteran this weekend?
UFC 319 Co-Featured Prelim: Gerald Meerschaert vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
Immediately beforehand, the co-featured undercard bout in UFC 319 happens in the middleweight division when Gerald Meerschaert (37-19 MMA, 12-11 UFC) meets Michal Oleksiejczuk (20-9, 1 NC MMA, 8-7, 1 NC UFC.) Meerschaert touches down in Illinois with a 2-3 record in his five most recent bouts.
He’s been a streaky fighter of late, as well. Meerschaert has lost two bouts in a row after getting his hand raised in two straight fights. This past April, he dropped his second straight appearance (unanimous decision) to Brad Tavares (21-10 MMA, 16-10 UFC.)
Meerschaert has logged 56 career fights as a professional in MMA up to now. Much like King Green in the featured prelim, Meerschaert doesn’t see retirement happening any time soon. How will appearance number 57 play out on Saturday?
Meanwhile, Michal Oleksiejczuk owns a 2-3 mark over his past five contests. Last time out, he returned to the win column after dropping three consecutive fights with a first-round knockout victory over Sediriques Dumas (10-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) on April 12 in Miami.
Oleksiejczuk will be making his second appearance in the Octagon in 2025 after having fought three times last year. Only time will tell if he’s able to make it 2-for-2 this year.
UFC 319: No. 5 Contender Jessica Andrade vs. No. 11 Contender Loopy Godinez
Also on the UFC 319 prelims, you’ll see a strawweight contest where it’ll be moving day in the division. No. 5 contender and former UFC Strawweight Champion Jessica Andrade (26-14 MMA, 17-12 UFC) will make her 30th appearance under the promotional banner when she locks horns with No. 11 contender Loopy Godinez (13-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC.)
Andrade heads to the Windy City on a 2-3 clip over her five latest fights. She’s sustained two straight defeats going into Saturday night. Three months ago, she was on the wrong end of a first-round submission by way of rear-naked choke from Jasmine Jasudavicius (14-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) in UFC 315 from Montreal.
For her efforts, Jasudavicius pocketed a $50,000 cash advance with the Performance of the Night Award during the post-fight press conference. Ahead of UFC 319, Andrade mentioned that she’ll retire from active competition once she hits the 40-fight mark in the promotion.
Her 30th UFC fight is a crucial one. A win here could make her as little as one win away from another shot at the UFC Strawweight Championship, having previously held the title in 2019.
In the other corner, Loopy Godinez is sporting a 3-2 mark in her past five showdowns. Last time out, she scored a unanimous decision victory on March 29 in Mexico City after 15 minutes of action versus Julia Polastri (13-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC.)
The stakes are high for Godinez here, as well. Aside from moving into the top-10 at 115 as soon as Monday with another notch in the win column this weekend, she could also find herself within striking distance of being in the title picture if she gets her hand raised.
Final Thoughts
Which fights are you looking forward to on the UFC 319 prelims? Let us know in the comments.
