Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev Now Official For UFC 319 Main Event

A middleweight title fight between reigning champion Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev has been officially announced as the headliner for UFC 319 in Chicago on August 16th.

The 31-year-old du Plessis is currently on a nine-fight winning streak since joining the UFC back in 2020, during which he went on to win the middleweight title with a split decision victory over Sean Strickland early last year.

Du Plessis has since gone on to defend the title twice, earning a submission win over israel Adesanya last summer followed by a unanimous decision victory in his rematch with Strickland in February of this year.

Now DDP will go up against a fighter many have been waiting to see in a title-fight for a long time now in the 31-year-old Khamzat Chimaev.

Khamzat is undefeated in his 14-fight career to date, which includes eight wins since arriving in the UFC a few months before du Plessis in 2020.

Khamzat got off to a very fast start by winning three fights in the space of two months, including two first round finishes, which quickly catapulted him to stardom.

However, injuries and illness have repeatedly hampered Khamzat’s progress since then, leading to long layoffs, but when he has been able to fight he’s continued to extend his winning record, beating the likes of Gilbert Burns, Kevin Holland, Kamaru Usman and most recently Robert Whittaker to finally earn a title shot.

Du Plessis vs. Chimaev is currently the only fight booked for UFC 319 so far, and is believed to include Nassourdine Imavov as the back-up fighter in case either man gets injured.