Dricus Du Plessis was completely dominated and dethroned by Khamzat Chimaev in a boring main event of UFC 319 on Saturday evening.
Popular champion Du Plessis claimed prior to the fight that he was enthusiastic to face an opponent who found many was unbeatable on the way to their confrontation. And he got his wish in Chimaev, who, despite his inexperience, came in as a huge favorite.
The couple had to achieve an incredible undercard of action with two rotating backfist Knockouts in a row and a large number of impressive versions. However, Chimaev opted for a safe and dominant decision gain.
Dricus du Plessis vs Khamzat Chimaev UFC 319 Result
De Windy City was treated to its first UFC event since before Pandemic Times on Saturday evening when Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat found Chimaev in the United Center. And after the pair was dragged apart before they even touched the gloves, the challenger's action quickly started.
Du Plessis insisted that he would be able to return pre-Fight, but was removed within a few seconds by Chimaev who penetrated the finish early. He managed to get into a crucifix and is almost immediately in a disastrous position for the champion.
It was not a particularly painful round for Du Plessis, but he was clearly behind and dominated when the couple went to their stool for the second one. However, that did not postpone the stubborn champion that seemed to smile and laugh with his coaches between the rounds.
It was more of the same in round two as Chimaev dominated position without really insisting on a finish, because he even avoided taking one important strike. The third was a similar story, although Du Plessis was cut at a certain moment by one of the little shots that his challenger landed.
After almost four rounds of minimal damage but dominance of position, Chimaev was finally risen by referee Marc Goddard. Not that it mattered, he was brought down again. Du Plessis got herself for 30 seconds fighting at the start of the fifth before he was put back in position.
A late flay from Du Plessis was not enough and Chimaev became the new undisputed middleweight champion. All three jury members scored the 50-44 fight across the board.
Dana White has awarded two bonuses on the spot in the stunning UFC 319 Undercard
It was a really remarkable night of fighting in the United Center in Chicago, because Dana White was forced to grant not one but two $ 50,000 bonuses in succession.
Firstly, Carlos Prates landed an absolutely horrible rotating elbow knockout from Geoff Neal. The sound of the shot alone was enough to make both fans and commentators sick, so that the Brazilian earned a fight in Rio later this year and a huge bonus from the boss.
Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC
Then undefeated Lerone Murphy in the Co-Main event finally got his big moment on Pay-per-View when he shed the debuting former Bellator star Aaron Pico. The Brit jumped in in the short term for undefeated number one competition Movsar Evloev, and immediately skipped the queue with an amazing interruption.
Alexander Volkanovski has already mentioned December as a potential date for a confrontation with the English star, which was last stimulated from the UFC Apex after a boring victory over Josh Emmett.