Daniel Cormier vs. Chael Sonnen rivalry ends in stunning upset in UFC 319 opener

Joseph Morales kicks off second UFC stint with stunning upset to kick off UFC 319

Morales looked sharp in the opening seconds, landing a few brutal body shots and nasty leg kicks. For the first time in Idiris’s career, he was put on his back foot early and often by Morales’s ferocious pressure.

Once the fight got to the mat, Morales was all over Idiris’s back, trapping him in early submission scares. He nearly choked Idiris to sleep at the end of the first round with a rear-naked choke before the buzzer extended the fight.

As Round 2 began, Morales didn’t let off the pressure, pushing forward and landing some nasty body shots to Idiris’s mid-section. Morales narrowly avoided a few close calls courtesy of Idiris throwing numerous front kicks that almost landed flush.

After getting the fight back to the ground, Morales trapped Idiris in a triangle choke submission midway through Round 2 to win the TUF 33 flyweight finale.

Watch Morales pull off the slick finish below.

After dropping two out of three of his previous UFC appearances, Morales captured the TUF 33 flyweight title after a three-fight win streak in Cage Warriors and A1 Combat. Morales won his UFC debut over Roberto Sanchez in August 2017 before a TKO loss to Figueiredo and a split decision defeat to Eric Shelton.

Idiris’s first career defeat comes after a dominant run through Naiza FC before joining the TUF 33 roster.

Morales’s victory helped kick off what was expected to be a massive card at UFC 319. Hours away from the main event, a UFC 319 standout predicts a surprising result from the two headliners.

UFC 319 main event could feature a ‘surprise’ from Khamzat Chimaev

UFC middleweight Michael ‘Venom’ Page suggested Chimaev should opt for a striking-heavy approach in the early rounds and abandon his usual wrestling dominant strategy. He touted Chimaev’s ‘crazy power’ as a potential factor in the first minutes of the fight.

Chimaev enters UFC 319 undefeated in his career with recent wins over Robert Whittaker and former UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman. His quick finish of Whittaker at UFC 308 completed his ascent towards a UFC title shot.

Du Plessis’s latest title defense is arguably the toughest test of his reign after wins over Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland. A win over Chimaev would put Du Plessis amongst the greatest UFC fighters of all-time.