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Dricus du Plessis

What's next for the stars of UFC 319?

Cole Shelton - August 18, 2025

The UFC was in Chicago, Illinois, on Saturday, August 16, for a solid UFC 319 card. The main event saw middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis defending his belt against Khamzat Chimaev. The co-main event saw Lerone Murphy taking on newly signed Aaron Pico. Ultimately, it was Chimaev who dominated Du Plessis in all five rounds as he controlled him on the ground for a lopsided win to become the new champ. In the co-main event, Murphy scored a stunning first-round highlight-reel KO win. Following UFC 319, here is what I think should be next for the stars of the event.

Jon Jones Octagon
Jon Jones

Jon Jones 'optimistic' he will be part of White House event despite Dana White's comments

Cole Shelton - August 18, 2025

Former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Jon Jones believes he will be part of the White House card. After Jones announced his retirement, White revealed the plan to host a UFC event on the White House lawn for the 4th of July. Following the announcement, Jones ended his retirement in hopes of being on that card. However, White has shot that down, saying there isn’t a chance ‘Bones’ will be on the card as he can’t trust him.

Israel Adesanya
Israel Adesanya

Israel Adesanya reacts to Khamzat Chimaev's dominant win over Dricus Du Plessis: 'Not what I expected'

Cole Shelton - August 18, 2025

Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was surprised by how the UFC 319 main event played out. In the main event of the pay-per-view card on Saturday, Dricus Du Plessis was looking to defend his middleweight title for the third time when he took on Khamzat Chimaev. However, Chimaev dominated Du Plessis in all five rounds, as he got the champ down early and was able to control him and dominate him on the ground for a lopsided decision win.

Dricus du Plessis UFC 319
Dricus du Plessis

Dana White assess Dricus du Plessis' performance in UFC 319 blowout loss

Fernando Quiles Jr. - August 18, 2025

Dana White has some thoughts on Dricus du Plessis’ performance at UFC 319. “DDP” attempted to nab a third successful UFC middleweight title defense when he met Khamzat Chimaev this past Saturday. Instead, he was taken down and controlled throughout the five-round title fight in Chicago. Ultimately, du Plessis dropped a unanimous decision with scores of 50-44 across the board.

Alexander Volkanovski and Lerone Murphy
Lerone Murphy

Alexander Volkanovski doubles down on timeframe for next UFC title fight amid Lerone Murphy's KO win

Fernando Quiles Jr. - August 18, 2025

Alexander Volkanovski wants to give Lerone Murphy a crack at UFC gold before 2025 is out. Volkanovski was paying close attention to the UFC 319 co-main event. On the card, Murphy took on Aaron Pico, who was making his UFC debut. Murphy shut the lights off Pico with a spinning back elbow. It was a statement-making win, and one that Murphy feels should secure him a UFC Featherweight Championship opportunity. Volkanovski, who is the current titleholder, agrees.

Dricus du Plessis UFC 319 corner
Khamzat Chimaev

Dricus du Plessis' head coach opens up on Khamzat Chimaev loss at UFC 319

Harry Kettle - August 18, 2025

Dricus du Plessis’ head coach Morne Visser has opened up on his student’s defeat at the hands of Khamzat Chimaev last weekend. On Saturday night, Dricus du Plessis lost the UFC middleweight championship. He was dominated from start to finish at the hands of Khamzat Chimaev in the main event of UFC 319, and that’s us putting it lightly. DDP tried to overcome the wrestling of Khamzat, but in the end, it just wasn’t enough.

Khamzat Chimaev Daniel Cormier
UFC

Khamzat Chimaev could move up to light heavyweight, says former UFC champion

Harry Kettle - August 18, 2025

UFC star Sean O’Malley believes that Khamzat Chimaev could make the move up to light heavyweight following his middleweight title triumph. Last Saturday night, Khamzat Chimaev finally reached the top of the mountain. He defeated Dricus du Plessis via unanimous decision to win the UFC middleweight championship. He did so in the main event of UFC 319 and, in all honesty, he made it look pretty easy with a dominant display from start to finish.

Aaron Pico
UFC

Aaron Pico releases statement following KO defeat at UFC 319

Harry Kettle - August 18, 2025

UFC newcomer Aaron Pico has released a statement in the wake of his nasty knockout loss to Lerone Murphy. As we know, there was a great deal of hype surrounding Aaron Pico ahead of his debut in the Ultimate Fighting Championship this past weekend. The overwhelming expectation was that if he could defeat Lerone Murphy, he would set himself up for a world title fight against Alexander Volkanovski. Alas, that isn’t quite how things panned out.

Carlos Prates, UFC Kansas City, MMA
Leon Edwards

Carlos Prates calls for intriguing fight against former UFC welterweight champion

Harry Kettle - August 18, 2025

UFC star Carlos Prates has called for a potential showdown with former UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards. Last weekend, Carlos Prates got back to winning ways in style. He was able to defeat Geoff Neal at UFC 319, and he did so via spinning elbow knockout. As you can imagine, that was more than enough to restore a lot of the hype that had previously been surrounding the welterweight prospect prior to his Ian Machado Garry defeat.

ONE Friday Fights 121
ONE Championship

ONE Championship unveils explosive lineup for ONE Friday Fights 121 on August 22

BJPENN.COM Staff - August 17, 2025

Tengnueng Fairtex headlines ONE Friday Fights 121 when he faces undefeated Russian striker Maksim Bakhtin. The Thai veteran enters the lightweight Muay Thai main event riding a six-year winning streak against a dangerous prospect seeking his breakthrough moment. The event takes place on August 22 inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium. Twenty-four fighters compete across Muay Thai and MMA bouts with $100,000 contracts and main roster spots available for standout performers.

Tawanchai
Tawanchai

Tawanchai PK Saenchai seeks kickboxing redemption against Liu Mengyang

BJPENN.COM Staff - August 17, 2025

Redemption roads rarely offer easy entry points. But Tawanchai PK Saenchai chose the scenic route back to two-sport supremacy. The ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion’s kickboxing resurrection begins against a dangerous young striker who represents everything standing between him and reclamation. Tawanchai battles Liu Mengyang in featherweight kickboxing action next. This happens at ONE Friday Fights 126 on September 26 inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium. He seeks his 135th career victory while attempting to erase painful memories from his last kickboxing appearance.

Michael Page UFC 319 victory
Michael Page

Michael Page open to facing fellow UFC 319 winner: 'That's a great fight'

Fernando Quiles Jr. - August 17, 2025

Michael Page wouldn’t mind throwing leather with another UFC 319 winner. Page competed on the main card of UFC 319 this past Saturday. He went one-on-one with Jared Cannonier in a battle of seasoned veterans. While Cannonier had the edge in terms of middleweight experience, Page was elusive for the majority of the fight. Cannonier had success late, but he ultimately dropped a unanimous decision.

Caio Borralho and Khamzat Chimaev
Khamzat Chimaev

Caio Borralho shares biggest advantage over UFC 319 title winner Khamzat Chimaev

Fernando Quiles Jr. - August 17, 2025

Caio Borralho believes he has a distinct advantage over newly crowned UFC Middleweight Champion, Khamzat Chimaev. Chimaev was a betting favorite going into his UFC 319 title fight against Dricus du Plessis. Many experts were baffled that the odds were in Chimaev’s favor by a decent margin. As it turns out, the oddsmakers were correct. “Borz” had nearly 22 minutes of control time, per FightMetric. His grappling was too much for du Plessis to handle, and he captured the 185-pound gold in a one-sided decision victory.

Joe Rogan and Dricus du Plessis
Joe Rogan

Joe Rogan reveals what went wrong for Dricus du Plessis in UFC 319 wipeout

Fernando Quiles Jr. - August 17, 2025

Joe Rogan has given his immediate thoughts in the aftermath of UFC 319. In the headliner of Saturday’s card, Dricus du Plessis entered as the UFC Middleweight Champion. He was hoping to earn his third successful title defense inside the United Center in Chicago. Instead, Chimaev turned in a dominant grappling display for five rounds. “Borz” is now the new UFC Middleweight Champion via unanimous decision.

Belal Muhammad Dricus du Plessis
Dricus du Plessis

Belal Muhammad wanted to fight Dricus du Plessis in parking lot following UFC 319

Fernando Quiles Jr. - August 17, 2025

Belal Muhammad was hoping for a scrap with Dricus du Plessis in a Chicago parking lot. On Saturday night, du Plessis put the UFC Middleweight Championship at stake against Khamzat Chimaev. This one ended up being all “Borz,” who utilized his grappling advantage effectively to secure a clear unanimous decision win and the 185-pound title.

Khamzat Chimaev UFC 319 win
Khamzat Chimaev

Khamzat Chimaev will 'drown' against rising star following UFC 319 title win

Fernando Quiles Jr. - August 17, 2025

Khamzat Chimaev is the new king of the UFC middleweight division, but one emerging contender thinks he can crack the code. Chimaev turned in a stellar performance against Dricus du Plessis in the UFC 319 headliner. Going into the UFC middleweight title fight, many questioned Chimaev’s gas tank. As it turned out, “Borz” had no issue keeping control of du Plessis for five rounds. The result of Chimaev’s superb grappling was a unanimous decision win and his first UFC championship.

Khamzat Chimaev, Nate Diaz, UFC 279
Khamzat Chimaev

Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz share very different reactions to Khamzat Chimaev’s title win at UFC 319

Harry Kettle - August 17, 2025

Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz had very different reactions to Khamzat Chimaev’s victory at UFC 319 last night. On Saturday, Khamzat Chimaev got the job done – and he did so in style. He dominated Dricus du Plessis to claim the UFC middleweight championship, and while he didn’t get the finish, he certainly proved that he can keep the pace up for five rounds. While it’s not clear as to what his next fight will be, one thing is for sure: ‘Borz’ has silenced a lot of his critics.

Khamzat Chimaev

Dana White share his thoughts on Khamzat Chimaev’s dominant win over Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319

Harry Kettle - August 17, 2025

UFC boss Dana White has given his thoughts on Khamzat Chimaev’s dominant victory over Dricus du Plessis last night. On Saturday, Khamzat Chimaev finally won UFC gold. It’s something that many have felt was inevitable ever since he first set foot in the promotion and now, it’s become a reality. He dominated Dricus du Plessis from beginning to end, firmly establishing himself as the best middleweight on the planet.