The Ultimate Fighter 33 Flightweight Finalist Joseph Morales closed his remarkable revival with a stunning victory in the UFC 319 opener.
UFC 319 was expected to be one of the largest cards of the year, with a long -awaited main event between Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev. The first fight of the Night set the tone for the long-awaited return from the UFC to Chicago for a huge pay-per-view.
The promotion started at UFC 319 by ending the last season of the Ultimate Fighter, with UFC Hall of Famers Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen as coaches. Flight weights Alibi Idiris and DeiveSon Figueiredo's former rival, Joseph Morales, fought for the TUF 33 flight weight championship.
Idiris came in the fight as an important favorite with an undefeated career through 10 professional periods. But the fight was ultimately a one -way ticket for his opposition.
Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC
Joseph Morales starts the second UFC stint with amazing upset to start UFC 319
Morales looked sharp in the first seconds and landed a few brutal body shots and annoying legs. For the first time in the career of Idiris, he was put early and often on his back foot by the wild pressure of Morales.
As soon as the fight came to the mat, Morales was completely past the back of Idiris, who catches him in the early submission dancing. He almost stifled Idiris to sleep at the end of the first round with a second -noded choke before the buzzer expanded the fight.
When round 2 started, Morales did not let go of the pressure, pushed forward and landed a number of annoying body shots to Idiris' middle section. Morales avoided a few narrow calls thanks to Idiris who threw countless front stairs that almost landed Flush.
After he got the fight back to the ground, Morales Idiris caught in a triangle -sticky entry halfway through the round 2 to win the TUF 33 flight weight final.
See how Morales gets the slick finish below.
Joseph Morales achieves the entry profit and is the #TUF33 Flightweight Champion 🏆 #ufc319 pic.twitter.com/cahh80lewq
– ESPN MMA (@ESPNMMA) August 16, 2025
After dropping two of the three of his earlier UFC performances, Morales conquered the TUF 33 flying weight title after a three-fighter win in Cage Warriors and A1 fights. Morales won his UFC debut about Roberto Sanchez in August 2017 before a TKO loss against Figueiredo and a split decision defeat against Eric Shelton.
The first defeat of Idiris comes after a dominant run by Naiza FC before he participated in the TUF 33 schedule.
The victory of Morales helped, when starting what is expected to be a huge map at UFC 319. Hours away from the main event, a UFC 319 -standing out predicts a surprising result of the two headliners.
UFC 319 Main Event can contain a 'surprise' of Khamzat Chimaev
UFC Middleweight Michael 'Venom' page suggested that Chimaev should opt for a striking heavy approach in the early rounds and leave his usual stranger-dominant strategy. He praised Chimaev's 'Crazy Power' as a potential factor in the first minutes of the fight.
Chimaev does not come to UFC 319 in his career in his career with recent victories over Robert Whittaker and former UFC -Welteregege Champion Kamaru Usman. His fast finish from Whittaker at UFC 308 completed his climb to a UFC title shot.
The newest title defense from Du Plessis is perhaps the most difficult test of his reign after victories over Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland. A victory over Chimaev would place Du Plessis among the largest UFC hunters of all time.