Dricus Du Plessis was utterly dominated and dethroned by Khamzat Chimaev in a drab main event of UFC 319 on Saturday night.
Popular champion Du Plessis claimed in advance of the fight that he was excited to face an opponent many felt was unbeatable heading into their showdown. And he was given his wish in Chimaev, who entered as a massive favorite despite his inexperience over five rounds.
The pair had to live up to an unbelievable undercard of action that featured two spinning backfist knockouts in a row and a host of impressive performances. However, Chimaev opted for a safe and dominant decision win.
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Dricus Du Plessis vs Khamzat Chimaev UFC 319 result
The Windy City was treated to its first UFC event since before pandemic times on Saturday night as Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev headlined at the United Center. And after the pair were dragged apart before even touching gloves, the action began quickly from the challenger.
Du Plessis insisted that he would be able to get back up pre-fight, but was taken down within seconds by Chimaev who pushed for the finish early. He managed to get into a crucifix position and almost immediately find himself in a disastrous position for the champion.
It wasn’t a particularly painful round for Du Plessis, but he was clearly behind and dominated as the pair headed to their stools for the second. However, that didn’t put off the cocky champion who seemed to smile and laugh with his coaches between the rounds.
It was more of the same in round two as Chimaev dominated position without really pushing for a finish as he avoided taking even one significant strike. The third was a similar story although Du Plessis was cut at some point by one of the small shots his challenger landed.
After almost four rounds of minimal damage but dominance of position, Chimaev was finally stood up by referee Marc Goddard. Not that it mattered, he was brought down again. Du Plessis got himself 30 seconds of fighting at the start of the fifth before being put right back in position again.
A late flurry from Du Plessis wasn’t enough, and Chimaev became the new undisputed middleweight champion. All three judges scored the fight 50-44 across the board.
Dana White awarded two bonuses on the spot in stunning UFC 319 undercard
It was a truly remarkable night of fights at the United Center in Chicago as Dana White was forced to award not one but two $50,000 bonuses consecutively on the spot.
First, Carlos Prates landed an absolutely gruesome spinning elbow knockout of Geoff Neal. The sound of the shot alone was enough to sicken fans and commentators alike, earning the Brazilian a fight in Rio later this year and a massive bonus from the boss.
Then in the co-main event, undefeated Lerone Murphy finally got his big moment on pay-per-view as he obliterated the debuting former Bellator star Aaron Pico. The Brit jumped in on short notice for unbeaten number one contender Movsar Evloev, and immediately skipped the queue with an amazing stoppage.
Alexander Volkanovski has already named December as a potential date for a showdown with the English star, who was last booed out of the UFC Apex after a drab win over Josh Emmett.