UFC 319 Main Event Preview and Prediction: Dricus Du Plessis – Khamzat Chimaev

In the main event of UFC 319 tomorrow night, we are going to see a very highly anticipated middleweight title fight. Middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis (23-2) will look to defend his title for the third time as he takes on the undefeated superstar Khamzat Chimaev (14-0).

It’s been a long journey, but we’ve finally reached a Khamzat Chimaev title fight in the UFC. Chimaev came onto the scene in 2020 when he won three fights in insanely dominant fashion in two months. Following those three wins, Chimaev was moved right into the title picture at 170 where he was scheduled to face Leon Edwards. However, due to issues with covid, the fight never materialized despite being booked twice.

Chimaev returned in October 2021 where he ran through Li Jingliang and then he followed that with a win over Gilbert Burns. He was supposed to face Nate Diaz in September 2022 but drastically missed weight leading to a last minute switch where the UFC had him face Kevin Holland. Chimaev submitted Holland and then moved officially to middleweight.

He was supposed to face Paulo Costa in October 2023 but Costa pulled out and Chimaev fought and defeated Kamaru Usman at 185. After another year away, Chimaev faced Robert Whittaker last October and ran through the former champion which earned him this title shot at UFC 319.

Now, he faces his toughest test to date in Dricus Du Plessis. DDP isn’t going to blow you away with anything, but the guy just knows how to win. He made his octagon debut back in 2020 and won his first five fights leading him to a title eliminator with Robert Whittaker. At the time, Whittaker had only lost to Israel Adesanya at middleweight.

Du Plessis stopped him in the second round. He then faced Sean Strickland for the UFC title and won a very close decision. He defended his title against Israel Adesanya first and submitted Stylebender in the fourth round. He ran things back with Sean Strickland earlier this year and dominated the former champion which leads him to this title defense against Chimaev.

UFC 319 Prediction

Words cannot describe how excited I am for this middleweight title fight tomorrow night. I think the thing that gets me the most excited is the unknown. Nobody has been able to stop the shots coming from Khamzat Chimaev. When he shoots, he always takes down his opponents. However, I don’t think he’s fought anyone with the size and strength of Dricus Du Plessis.

The one thing we know about the champion is the fact that he’s an absolute dog. He’s not going to go away and he’s going to last all five rounds. We’ve seen Chimaev struggle later in fights if he’s not able to get the early finish. UFC 319 is going to come down to the first couple of rounds. Can Chimaev run through DDP like he’s done everyone else or will DDP make it through the fire and be standing strong with multiple rounds to go.

I know the sexy pick is Chimaev, but I’m rolling with the champion here. I think he’s going to be able to hold his own against the grappling of Chimaev and when Chimaev can’t get him out of there, I think the cardio is going to play a huge role. I’m expecting DDP to wear down the challenger and ultimately score a late finish retaining the UFC middleweight title.

Prediction: Dricus Du Plessis by TKO