Preview: UFC 319 ‘Du Plessis vs. Chimaev’

The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday will land in Chicago for the first time in over six years with UFC 319 at the United Center. The headliner clearly carries the most intrigue, as Khamzat Chimaev looks to complete what has felt like an inevitable rise towards championship status against reigning middleweight titleholder Dricus Du Plessis, who attempts to surprisingly overachieve one more time. Beyond that, there’s a UFC-versus-Bellator MMA theme of sorts in two main card matchups: Aaron Pico makes his Octagon debut and gets thrown directly into the featherweight contender mix against Lerone Murphy, while fellow former Bellator standout Michael Page tries to build his middleweight momentum against onetime title challenger Jared Cannonier. The last two bouts on the draw are also well-matched. Geoff Neal and Carlos Prates should have an engaging scrap at welterweight, and former flyweight title contender Kai Asakura hunts for his first UFC win against Tim Elliott at 125 pounds.

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