UFC star Max Holloway was shocked to find out that Fight of the Night record holder is competing on the UFC 319 prelims this coming Saturday.
This Saturday, the premier promotion returns to Chicago for the first time since 2019 when Dricus Du Plessis defends his middleweight title against Khamzat Chimaev in the UFC 319 main event.
Du Plessis vs Chimaev is one of the most anticipated fights of the year so far, and has been over a year in the making as ‘Stillknocks’ called for it after beating Israel Adesanya at UFC 305.
As well as the main event, there are several other stacked fights on the card, including the co-main event between Lerone Murphy and Aaron Pico, which will likely be a number one contender fight.
However, there is a fight on the prelims that is slightly going under the radar due to the placement of it, which has shocked current BMF champion Max Holloway.
Holloway shocked to find out Edson Barboza will compete on the UFC 319 prelims
Just four fights into the card, Fight of the Night record holder Edson Barboza will take on Drakkar Klose in what guarantees to be an incredible clash.
‘Junior’ Barboza is coming off the back of a loss to the aforementioned Murphy, and will be looking to return to the win column with another big win.
Despite his exciting fight style and being a favorite amongst the fans, Barboza will be on the early prelims portion of the event, which has came as quite the shock.
“What! Edson Barboza on the early prelims? Holy s—, they’re doing my man wrong, that should be a fun fight, if Edson’s in shape this should be a pretty fun fight for him but Klose is a dog man. I can’t believe Edson is on the early prelims, damn,” Holloway said in his recent YouTube video.
Holloway predicts the main event between Du Plessis and Chimaev
The middleweight main event is proving one of the toughest fights to predict among pros and fans considering both fighters’ fight styles.
And Holloway is also another fighter who is split on who he believes will come out of the Windy City with the 185lb title.
“The degen gambler in me would go Du Plessis but my mind is going with Chimaev… The whole thing with Chimaev, and I’m really trying to know if his cardio is there,” Holloway said.