View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Dricus du Plessis (@dricusduplessis)

Du Plessis (23-3) lost his title in the main event on Aug 16 at the United Center in Chicago. Since the loss not much has been heard from ‘Stillknocks’ but that changed on Monday morning.

“It’s been just over a week and I have spent some time with my family and friends, those closest to me who will be with me win or lose.

I embrace this loss with open arms, because believe me as much as I hate losing, it’s as much part of life as part of our game- and I believe it’s necessary in my pursuit of greatness. ‘Without the bitter, the sweet wouldn’t be as sweet.’

Make no mistake I’m not a good loser, because a good loser becomes a frequent one. I am however- an avid learner of the arts and of life itself.

This loss has exploded a desire in me that will have the consequence of an onslaught bigger than the original domination- my return to glory and pursuit of greatness will be unimaginable for the average minded.

I have absolutely no excuses for my performance, I was beaten by a better fighter on the night, congratulations to my opponent and thank you for the honour of sharing the octagon with you.

Thank you for all the love and support from fans all over the world, and my sponsors that has always and will in the future play a critical role in my success

AND SINCERELY thank you to all those who enjoyed to see me fall, because I will return the favour, like I always have.

I believe in the plan of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for He knows best and I can’t wait to see what He has planned for me going forward.”

It’s unclear what’s next for Du Plessis with an immediate rematch looking pretty unlikely and a stacked middleweight division to work through once again.

Just like his unlikely title run however it’s hard to count ‘Stillknocks’ out of another title run eventually.

The post Dricus du Plessis Speaks Out, “I embrace this loss with open arms” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Dricus Du Plessis

Khamzat Chimaev absolutely dominated now-former UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis on the way to a virtually flawless, five round unanimous decision victory. Khamzat entered the bout ranked at #3 within the middleweight rankings. The loss was the first that Dricus has suffered in the UFC since being signed in 2020. DDP is now 9-1 with the promotion. It was the first time the South African has lost in some 11 fights, since 2018.

The performance on Saturday from Dricus didn’t lead anyone to believe that he needs an immediate rematch against Khamzat. He’ll likely need two, maybe even three wins for that to even be a topic of conversation.

An opponent that would make the most sense for Dricus is Reinier de Ridder. Reinier is currently ranked at #5 within the division. Timing wouldn’t matchup perfectly, as RDR fought at the end of July, but it’d be close enough. RDR is already 4-0 in the promotion, and it hasn’t even been a full calendar year since his debut. De Ridder’s finished Gerald Meerschaert, Kevin Holland and Bo Nickal. And in his most recent bout he headlined his first UFC main event with his split decision defeat of Robert Whittaker. Dricus has also fought and beaten Whittaker.

DDP vs RDR would be a good striker vs grappler matchup, but Reinier is a much different type of grappler than Khamzat. Much more jiujitsu based than he Khamzat, as Chimaev is a pure wrestler, which in-turn should offer a much different fight for Dricus and fans. Easy fight night main event or main card on a PPV, type of fight. Winner would be a fight away from the belt, potentially fighting for the belt with a spectacular finish.

Du Plessis’s next fight: Reinier de Ridder

Aaron Pico

Lerone Murphy delivered a highlight-reel KO for the ages with his first-round spinning elbow KO of Aaron Pico on Saturday. Murphy entered the bout ranked at #6 in the featherweight division, while Pico was unranked as it was his promotional debut.

It was a huge gamble for Pico that just didn’t pan out for him. Pico was riding lots of momentum as he had won 9 of his last 10 fights and was on a three-fight win streak.

Pico’s next fight has endless possibilities, but a strong choice would be the loser of Brian Ortega vs Aljamain Sterling. That fight goes down on August 23rd so the timing would matchup.

Aljamain is ranked at #7 in the division while Ortega is ranked at #4. So, giving Pico the loser of this bout works perfectly. It would also work in giving Pico a bit different of a look given the outcome of his debut and given that both Ortega and Sterling are grappling heavy fighters. This bout would also give Pico another chance to get a ‘name’ under his belt with either the former UFC Bantamweight Champion or a former UFC featherweight title challenger. This could be a tentative main event for a fight night card to really try and push Pico, considering he performed well in the minutes leading up to the finish.

Winner could be within striking distance of a title shot with nice mic skills. Loser would be in danger of slipping out of the top 10-12.

Pico’s next fight: Aljamain Sterling vs Brian Ortega Loser

Geoff Neal

Carlos Prates floored Geoff Neal with a spinning back elbow in the final second of the first round on Saturday. Geoff, who was once 5-0 with the UFC, has now lost three of three of his last four fights.

Neal entered the fight ranked #11 in the welterweight division, while Prates was ranked at #12.

A good next opponent for Geoff would be Daniel Rodriguez. Daniel last fought in July when he won a unanimous decision over Kevin Holland at UFC 318.  D-Rod has actually gone 3-0 since moving down to welterweight in October of last year. Geoff vs D-Rod would be a great boxing striking heavy fight. Daniel is currently ranked at #13 within the division so it makes sense from a ranking’s standpoint as well. This would be a good featured preliminary fight before a PPV card or even a main card fight on a fight night card. That’d be a must win for Geoff if he ever wanted to be in elite discussions again.

Neal’s next fight: Daniel Rodriguez

Jared Cannonier

Michael Page turned in a clinic on Saturday with his three-round, one-sided, unanimous decision beating of Jared Cannonier. Rough break for Cannonier as he has now lost three of his last four bouts.

Cannonier entered the fight ranked at #9 in the middleweight division while Page was unranked at 185lbs. but ranked at #15 in the welterweight division.

A friendly reminder that Cannonier is 41 years old. He’s always in wars.

Cannonier’s next fight should be against Roman Dolidze. Roman last fought in the main event UFC Vegas 109, and was submitted by Anthony Hernandez, earlier this month. This potential matchup was referenced in that edition of losers and it still holds true after UFC 319’s outcome. Dolidze is now ranked at #11 in the division. Roman just had his three-fight win streak snapped so he’s looking to get back on the right track but in a different position then Jared.

Great fight that could easily be as high as a co main event to as fight night card. Winner proves they belong in the top 10 while the loser could very well face sliding out of the top 15 with another loss.

Jared’s next fight: Roman Dolidze

Kai Asakura

Tim Elliott turned back the clock Saturday with his second-round submission finish over Kai Asakura to open the main card of UFC 319. Kai is now 0-2 with the UFC since being signed late last year and making his UFC debut in a UFC title fight.

Kai entered the bout rounding out the flyweight rankings at #15 while Tim Elliot was ranked at #11.

So where does Kai go from here? UFC brass threw him in the deep end, and he sank, now what?

While Elliot’s win prior to Asakura is fighting soon (Sumudaerji), versus Kevin Borjas on the main card of a UFC Fight Night later this month, a more suitable opponent for Asakura was mentioned in a previous losers article. Now that Hyun Sung Park has been booked against the #14 ranked Bruno Silva, the Charles Johnson vs. Lone’er Kavanagh winner could make sense again.

At this point, that’s the fight that makes the most sense for Asakura. The timing would align. Charles was ranked in the top 15 earlier this year and also had a strong showing against star prospect turned #1 title contender, Joshua Van. Lone’er Kavanagh is an undefeated Cage Warriors and Contender Series product that is 2-0 thus far with the promotion.

Asakura’s 31 and he’s 21-6 as a pro. With his experience and notoriety, he’s got to continue to fight ‘names.’ No backsteps. If Charles or Lone’er deliver a finish, Kai could be the perfect matchup to provide a good proving ground for both competitors. Fight Night main card caliber of fight with the winner being undoubtedly getting a ranking if they don’t already. Loser of this bout should be unranked.

Asakura’s next fight: Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Charles Johnson Winer

The post What’s Next: UFC 319 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

Chimaev (15-0) has plenty of potential challengers, but he’s not picky. Line them up and ‘Borz’ will take them down.

“I don’t care about these things,” Chimaev told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“I just…where they give the money I’ll fight anyone.”

One such name, even though he may be near the end of the title shot line, is former champion Sean Strickland. Strickland took to social media to say that he was the only one who could out-grapple Chimaev. The two trained together for a short time and Strickland claimed he outwrestled the Chechen fighter.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Sean Strickland (@stricklandmma)

The champion cracked a smile.

“Bro Dricus take him down many times. How can he take me down? This guy I beat him everywhere. This guy just talk too much,” he said.

“He’s funny guy.”

Chimaev even proposed to make it tougher for himself. 2 on 1 anyone?

“He’s working with, what’s his name, (Borrachina)? Yeah Paulo. I’ll meet them together,” said Chimaev.

The new champion has a ritual of calling his mother following his fights to let her know he’s ok. This call was very much different as the son called his mother to give her the good news.

“She was crying. Mom I’m the champ now so don’t cry,” Chimaev said. “I’ll be back soon.”

Chimaev wasn’t alone on the card as training partner and friend Baisangur Susurkaev made his UFC debut 4 days after earning a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series. Borz had high-praise for his friend.

“I knew him long time before. My friends they worked with him, trained with him. He’s younger than me, he’s been in the gym in Chechnya and then he moved when I moved back. He moved to US. He lives in Miami in great gym he’s training there,” he said.

“Good future. When I come here we call him, bring him to the camp, work with this guy. Crazy good talent and young. 24 years only. If he works hard he’s the next champ.”

Watch the entire post-fight crum with Khamzat Chimaev above.

The post Khamzat Chimaev Scoffs At Strickland’s Claims, “He’s a funny guy” appeared first on Cageside Press.

It was the third attempted title defense for South Africa’s “Stillknocks,” who had defeated Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland, after originally winning the belt from Strickland at UFC 297 in January of 2024.

Chimaev had the crowd behind him in advance of Saturday’s main event at the United Center getting underway, with Du Plessis booed on his walk out.

Khamzat raised an eyebrow and had a smirk while still in his corner, then came out, ducked a punch, and immediately landed a big takedown. He had the champ in a crucifix within a minute, landing left hands that while not powerful were voluminous. Du Plessis tried to buck Chimaev off of him, but could not. Instead, he hung on, tried to keep his head close to Chimaev’s body, and hoped for a standup that just wasn’t coming.

Dricus would work his way to the fence, but couldn’t wall walk or scramble out. Instead, he spent nearly the entirety of the round on his back, absorbing punches and elbows. When Chimaev took the back, Du Plessis slipped out the back door, but when he threw a wild punch, Chimaev took him right back down again.

Du Plessis opened round two with a head kick that was blocked, then had Chimaev burst into another takedown. This time, DDP was by the fence, on one knee, Chimaev controlling from the back. Khamzat then just dragged Du Plessis to his knees with a body lock in place. With the champ back to his knees, Chimaev drilled his rib with knee strikes.

After two rounds, Khamzat Chimaev was easily up 20-18, if not 20-17 depending on how judges viewed the opening frame.

Another huge takedown by Chimaev opened round three. Du Plessis hadn’t landed a significant strike through the first ten minutes and change. Two minutes in, and Chimaev had another crucifix. This time, elbows got through, and Du Plessis was showing damage by an eye. Du Plessis would pull his arm out, but not before eating about 50 punches. Chimaev took the back in the final minute, in what was the most lopsided round of the fight to that point.

After a few seconds of striking, Chimaev charged into another takedown to start round four. Du Plessis stuffed the first attempt, but was caught by the second. Chimaev worked his way to the back, with Du Plessis on his knees. He avoided the crucifix, but was in desperate need of a finish heading into round five.

It wouldn’t come. Du Plessis was taken down again. And while he was finally able to reverse late in the final frame and get some damage in, it was too little too late. Chimaev was never truly in danger, cruising to a massive title win.

Official Result: Khamzat Chimaev def. Dricus Du Plessis by unanimous decision (50-44, 50-44, 50-44)

The post UFC 319: Khamzat Chimaev Steamrolls Dricus du Plessis to Claim Middleweight Title appeared first on Cageside Press.

UFC 319 marks the promotion’s return to Chicago, and the UFC is bringing a stacked card topped by a middleweight title fight.

Long has Khamzat Chimaev been looked at as a future UFC champion, but there was a time where pundits and fans questioned whether his career might be over. A scary bout with COVID and health issues both related and non kept Chimaev out of action far longer than he should have been, after starting his UFC tenure on a tear in 2020. Then, over the past couple of years, there was a lack of activity due in part to visa issues that how now seemingly been solved.

In all that time, former KSW champ Dricus Du Plessis has risen to the top of the 185lb weight class, beating names like Adesanya, Whittaker, and Strickland in the process.

UFC 319: Du Plessis vs. Chimaev Weigh-In Results

Main card

Middleweight: Dricus du Plessis (c) (185) vs. Khamzat Chimaev (183) – for the UFC middleweight championship
Featherweight: Lerone Murphy (146) vs. Aaron Pico (145)
Welterweight: Geoff Neal (171) vs. Carlos Prates (170)
Middleweight: Jared Cannonier (186) vs. Michael Page (186)
Flyweight: Tim Elliott (126) vs. Kai Asakura (126)

Preliminary card

Middleweight: Gerald Meerschaert (185) vs. Michał Oleksiejczuk (186)
Women’s Strawweight: Jéssica Andrade (116) vs. Loopy Godinez (115)
Lightweight: Chase Hooper (155) vs. Alexander Hernandez (156)

Early preliminary card

Lightweight: Edson Barboza (155.5) vs. Drakkar Klose (156)
Middleweight: Bryan Battle (190)* vs. Nursulton Ruziboev (186)
Women’s Flyweight: Karine Silva (125) vs. Dione Barbosa (125.5)
Welterweight: Rodrigo Sezinando vs. Daniil Donchenko – TUF 33 welterweight finale
Flyweight: Alibi Idiris (126) vs. Joseph Morales (126) – TUF 33 flyweight finale
Middleweight: Baysangur Susurkaev (185) vs. Eric Nolan (183)

* Missed weight by 4 pounds

The post UFC 319: Du Plessis vs. Chimaev Weigh-In Results And LIVESTREAM appeared first on Cageside Press.

The Pay-Per-View card (as it turns out, one of the last half-dozen or so UFC PPV events, with the promotion dropping the format upon its move to Paramount+ next year) sees Dricus Du Plessis headlining against Khamzat Chimaev, with middleweight gold on the line. For years, fans have wondered if Khamzat would some day hold a UFC title. Early on he seemed like a lock, prior to running into a myriad of health issues.

Those appear to be in the past now, as do the visa issues that prevented him from competing stateside. We’ll get our answer to the Chimaev question Saturday, while also learning whether Dricus Du Plessis has what it takes to defeat the unbeaten phenom, and establish himself as a champion who could potentially clear out the division.

While there are other deserving contenders – Reinier de Ridder, Anthony Hernandez, Nassourdine Imavov, Caio Borralho – Chimaev is unquestionably the most formidable at this point.

The Aaron Pico question will be answered this Saturday as well. A blue chip prospect for Bellator MMA, Pico was considered a future title contender prior to that promotion being sold. A fight with Patricio Pitbull was heavily anticipated, but never came to fruition (though both are now employed by the UFC). Instead, he arrives in the co-main event at UFC 319 opposite the unbeaten Lerone Murphy. A win, and Pico is instantly in title contention. A loss, similar to Patchy Mix falling flat in his own recent debut, and the talented Jackson-Wink fighter will have to take the slow road.

Pico, it should be noted, was to have made his debut against Movsar Evloev, only for Evloev to forgo a May date, sign on for UFC Abu Dhabi in July, then pull out of the bout due to injury.

With a mixture of star power and intriguing match-ups, UFC 319 is one of the better cards of the year. The pre-fight press conference goes down Thursday, getting underway at 6PM ET, 3PM PT. Catch the live stream above.

The post UFC 319: Du Plessis vs. Chimaev Pre-Fight Press Conference Live Stream appeared first on Cageside Press.

Speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press ahead of the fight, “Stillknocks” gave his opinion on how to approach the undefeated, intimidating 14-0 Chimaev.

For one thing, Du Plessis feels Chimaev’s past opponents have made the mistake of waiting, doing nothing offensively until the Chechan takes them down.

“I understand that he’s really good at wrestling and he’s really good on the ground, but that is the game I guess, right? If you’re fighting Israel Adesanya, are you going to start on your bum and try to butt scoot?” questioned Du Plessis. “No, you’re going to have to fight him. That is how it is, and that’s truly how I feel about this fight.”

“Yes he is going to shoot and yes he is probably going to take me down, but I’m going to shoot too, and I’m probably going to take him down. And I’m going to strike and I’m probably going to hit him, and he’s going to strike and probably hit me.”

“I’m not scared of any of that,” the South African continued. “I go into any fight with that mindset, that you might get hit, you’re definitely getting hit, you might get taken down. What do you do after that?”

There’s been a bit of trash talk ahead of this Saturday’s title fight, but for the most part things have been business-like. An encounter between champ and challenger this week produced no drama. So which sort of build-up does Dricus Du Plessis prefer?

“I thought about that, and people have asked me about it – does it get you riled up when you get angry? I never get angry. It’s nothing personal, it’s just business,” stated Du Plessis. “And I’ve said this many times, you can be the biggest asshole in the world, or the nicest guy in the world, I’m still going out there to try to kill you. It’s what I’m here to do.”

So whether Thursday’s press conference is more like DDP and Israel Adesanya, or his presser with Sean Strickland, which were heated, or the more relaxed affairs with Darren Till and Robert Whittaker, Du Plessis isn’t worried. It probably helps that he currently reigns over one of the hottest divisions in the promotion.

Middleweight, a two or three-horse race a few years ago, is a wide open field these days. Spirits are high. Aside from Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev, there’s Reinier de Ridder, a former ONE Championship star who just defeated Robert Whittaker, Anthony Hernandez, who put a drubbing on Roman Dolidze last weekend, and a pending showdown between Caio Borralho and Nassourdine Imavov in Paris.

“Man, what a time to be the middleweight champion of the world. It’s an exciting division, and I love it. I love it. Because there’s a lot of guys in the division, there’s a lot of movement. And there’s so many guys putting up their hand to be at the top of the division, but after this, not somebody necessarily putting their hand up to be the next number one contender,” observed Du Plessis. “And that’s exciting because there’s four guys, immediate guys that I can think of that are right there. Any one of them can be that guy, but I think between them, they’re all going to sort it out pretty quickly, and that’s exciting.”

Asked about who has stood out to him, Du Plessis was quick to answer.

“Anthony Hernandez, I have to say. His last fight against Doldize was very, very impressive. Of course the fight with RDR and Whittaker, that was a big test for him [de Ridder], but it was a very, very, very close fight. Some could say dodgy decision, others say it’s the right decision, I don’t even have an opinion on the decision. If they gave that fight to Rob, I would 100% agree, if they gave it to RDR like they did, I 100% agree. It’s one of those fights. But Hernandez was the one, obviously Dolidze was ranked #9 when they fought, but he looked incredible in that fight. He looked incredible. Nobody’s ever done that to Dolidze.”

Watch the full UFC 319 media day appearance by middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis above. The card takes place this Saturday, August 16, 2025 at the United Center in Chicago, IL.

The post UFC 319’s Dricus Du Plessis: “What a Time to be Middleweight Champion” appeared first on Cageside Press.

• On June 28^th, Ilia Topuria will face Charles Oliveira in the main event of UFC 317 for the vacant lightweight title
• In the co-main event, Alexandre Pantoja will defend his flyweight against Kai Kara-France
• Dricus Du Plessis will defend his middleweight title against Khamzat Chimaev on August 16^th at UFC 319 in Chicago

Once Jack Della Maddalena’s hand was raised last Saturday in Montréal, most of us knew what it would mean for the immediate future, especially International Fight Week. With Belal Muhammad now no longer holding the welterweight title, Islam Makhachev was going to move up in an attempt to become a two-division UFC champion. This also meant that Topuria was going to face Charles Oliveira at the end of June. Was Makhachev going to be forced to vacate? That was something we weren’t sure of, especially once the Russian posted on social media that he intended to keep the lightweight belt.

However, if “El Matador” was to meet “Do Bronx”, it had to be in a main event above the Pantoja vs Kara-France, which means a title needed to be on the line. For that reason, it wasn’t too surprising to learn that Makhachev did end up vacating, just like Topuria did early this year when he announced he was moving up.

Aside from these bookings making for an exciting summer slate, what is there to learn from them when looking ahead to September, October and the rest of the 2025 calendar? Here are my three main takeaways, as well as my schedule predictions for the second half of the year.

October Gets Two PPVs

2022, the first full post-COVID calendar year with no Pay-Per-View events at the Apex, had 13 total PPVs, including two in July.  2023, had 14 total PPVs, including two in March and July. 2024, also had 14 total PPVs, including two in June and October.

Using that information, it is fair to expect another 14-PPV year, which means one more month will need a second numbered event. The month that features IFW always gets a second PPV. Last year, it was June instead of July, because July only had four Saturdays instead of five. Same goes for this year, which is why IFW is in late June again, instead of early July. We haven’t seen two numbered events in September, November or December, which would suggest that October will once again get a second one.

If 2025’s schedule is to play out like last year’s, we can expect UFC 321 to be on October 4^th.  Where will it take place? Who’s to say? Maybe they go to Australia, for a double-header with Della Maddalena and Alexander Volkanovski. Maybe they go back to Salt Lake City, who has been getting one numbered event per year since 2022. We will have to wait and see.

The Main Omission

It’s hard to ignore the fact that not being a part of these announcements is the long overdue heavyweight title unification between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall. There were rumours flying around about Aspinall potentially facing Ciryl Gane next. Whether it was going to be for the undisputed or the interim title was unclear, but with Jones seemingly not ready to get back in a training camp, the Englishman might have been looking to stay busy.

When Jones defeated Stipe Miocic back in November, we thought maybe we would have to wait until International Fight Week to see him fight Aspinall. Now that we have a main event confirmed for IFW, we can only wonder how much more we will need to wait. Main events are now booked until the fall. The September PPV is the earliest one without a main event confirmed, but Guadalajara would be a peculiar place for Jones and Aspinall to face each other.

So it seems the soonest we can see this fight is at UFC 321 on October 4^th. Though, a fight of this magnitude probably just headlines Madison Square Garden instead. If we can wait until October, we can wait until November.

Time will tell whether this fight will ever materialize but for now, we will have to wait before we get some closure on this entire saga.

Who Headlines Noche?

Buried in between the giant announcements at lightweight and middleweight is perhaps the most underrated active champion attempting a fourth defence of his belt. When the UFC went to Mexico for a Fight Night card in late March, they announced that UFC 320 would take place on September 13^th in Guadalajara. The date came to no surprise, as in both 2023 and 2024, they held Noche events on Mexican Independence weekend. This time, they will actually go to Mexico, and it will be a PPV event once again.

Last year, the UFC put a lot of Mexican talent on their Noche card but headlined it with an American facing a Georgian. Should the lesson here be that the UFC doesn’t care if their Mexican Independence Day card is actually headlined by Mexican talent? I think that was a way for them to maximize ticket sales, using Sean O’Malley’s stardom to appeal to as many fans as possible. I would expect them try harder to have a Mexican in the main event, this time around.

The obvious candidate would be Brandon Moreno, but his division’s champion is fighting on June 28^th.  Can Pantoja submit Kara-France quickly like he did Kai Asakura and make the turnaround for September? Maybe, but if that was the UFC’s Plan A, I believe they would’ve booked Pantoja earlier this spring, maybe in Miami like he was initially rumoured to, so that the turnaround would be much more realistic for the 35-year-old.

This tells me that a trilogy between Pantoja and Moreno isn’t the promotion’s first choice. So who’s a Mexican fighter that could realistically headline UFC 320? Unfortunately, there aren’t that many, but Yair Rodriguez is probably the second likeliest option. He already lost handily to Volkanovski, but the UFC doesn’t seem too eager to be in the Movsar Evloev business and needs a Mexican to be ready in September.

If Pantoja or Kara-France can be victorious without taking a ton of damage on June 28^th, I would expect Moreno to face the winner. But if it’s a blood and guts war, we could be getting one of the least anticipated rematches instead.

Prediction For Rest of 2025 Calendar

UFC 320, September 13^th (Guadalajara)

• Alexandre Pantoja vs Brandon Moreno 3
• Virna Jandiroba vs Mackenzie Dern 2 (vacant strawweight title)

With Zhang Weili teasing a move up to flyweight and Valentina Shevchenko voicing interest in that fight, the strawweight division will need a vacant title fight. Virna Jandiroba has cemented herself as the undeniable number 1 contender, and Mackenzie Dern is coming off back-to-back wins.

UFC 321, October 4^th (Location TBD)

• Magomed Ankalaev vs Alex Pereira 2
• Alexander Volkanovski vs Movsar Evloev

With Magomed Ankalaev being a Dagestani fighter, he could always end up fighting in Abu Dhabi later that month. But Makhachev and Alex Pereira are two proven headliners, so it wouldn’t make sense to put them on the same card.

UFC 322, October (Abu Dhabi)

• Jack Della Maddalena vs Islam Makhachev
• Valentina Shevchenko vs Zhang Weili

Aside from last year because of a hand injury, Makhachev has fought on every Abu Dhabi PPV dating back to 2021, headlining two of them. The UFC seems to be interested in building their Chinese audience, so having Zhang fight in a time zone that is friendlier to the Chinese fanbase would also make sense.

UFC 323, November (Madison Square Garden)

• Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall
• Kayla Harrison vs Amanda Nunes

If this heavyweight title unification is ever going to happen, it does appear that the line drawn in the sand is MSG in November. If Kayla Harrison defeats Julianna Peña in June, as she’s expected to do, then putting her in that coveted New York spot would also make a ton of sense.

UFC 324, December (Las Vegas)

• Khamzat Chimaev vs Nassourdine Imavov
• Merab Dvalishvili vs Cory Sandhagen

The nature of some upcoming results will dictate who’s available in December, but I believe that both Chimaev and Merab Dvalishvili will be victorious in their next bouts. I penciled in Nassourdine Imavov, but I could’ve put anyone. Imavov being so vocal in turning down the Caio Borralho fight could backfire. Plus, there’s also the scenario in which Reinier de Ridder runs through Robert Whittaker and jumps the line. I think Cory Sandhagen put a stamp on his status as the next title challenger with his latest performance.

The post What Do Recent Fight Announcements Tell Us About Second Half of UFC Calendar? appeared first on Cageside Press.

The Chicago-based Pay-Per-View is set to be topped by middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis, taking on the unbeaten juggernaut that is Khamzat Chimaev (14-0).

UFC officials including promotion President and CEO Dana White revealed the news on Tuesday. UFC 319 takes place on August 16, 2025 at the United Center in Chicago. IL.

Chimaev has long been looked at as a future champion, after storming into the UFC in 2020. “Borz” immediately broke the record for fastest turnaround between fights in the modern era of the UFC, and juggled fights at both welterweight and middleweight. However, a nasty bout with COVID-19 nearly ended the hot prospect’s career, and his fighting pace slowed considerably. In three of the last four years, Khamzat Chimaev has fought just once per year, with the outlier being 2022, when he competed twice.

In October, the Chechen-born fighter did serious damage to the jaw of former champ Robert Whittaker, care of a face crank.

Dricus Du Plessis, South Africa’s first UFC champion, captured the UFC’s 185lb title in January of 2024 at UFC 297 in Toronto, earning a decision win over Sean Strickland. “Stillknocks” has since defended the belt twice, against Israel Adesanya, and in a rematch with Strickland.

No other fights have been announced or reported for UFC 319.

The post UFC 319 Gets Dricus Du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev As Headliner appeared first on Cageside Press.

Jimmy Crute returned after a 19-month hiatus and fought Rodolfo Bellato to a draw in a wild back-and-forth. The debuting heavyweight giant Tallison Teixeira made quick work of Justin Tafa. And the two title fights saw the champions retain their titles in dominant fashions.

Dricus Du Plessis

This might have been the most technically sound performance we have seen from Du Plessis, so far. Although, while he shutout Sean Strickland on two of the judges’ scorecards, it’s not like he exactly blew him out of the water.

His next opponent is obvious, and this fight didn’t do a lot to teach us anything about how it might go down. We saw no defensive grappling from the South African, which doesn’t exactly help us understand how he’ll navigate his next challenge: Khamzat Chimaev. It’s been the obvious fight to make ever since Chimaev defeated Robert Whittaker back in October. Assuming the fight can be made without too many travelling issues from Chimaev’s camp, it should go down sometime this summer. The fans want it, Dana White wants it, and even Du Plessis wants it.

If Chimaev once again needs to wait until October to fight in Abu Dhabi, then Du Plessis can fight Nassourdine Imavov, in the meantime.

Du Plessis’ next fight: Khamzat Chimaev

Zhang Weili

Tatiana Suarez was seen as the uncrowned champion for many years while away with health troubles. She closed as the betting favourite seemingly because all the fans who had picked her as a lock to become a champion many moons ago wanted to put their money where their mouths are. And who can blame them when the wrestling phenom had finishes over champions like Alexa Grasso, Carla Esparza and Jessica Andrade?

All this makes what Zhang Weili accomplished on Saturday that much more impressive. She didn’t just hand the challenger her first professional defeat, she thoroughly dominated her. Zhang defended 14 of 15 takedown attempts and became the first fighter to take Suarez the the ground. At 35 years of age, “Magnum” is showing no signs of slowing down and she deserves the chance to grab a second belt. But first, Valentina Shevchenko has business with Manon Fiorot to take care of.

Zhang’s next fight: Flyweight title shot

Tallison Teixeira

Teixeira is 25 years old, 6’7”, and undefeated with a 100% 1^st-round finish rate. In other words, he’s a legitimate heavyweight prospect and those have been an endangered species in this sport for some time. The way he folded Justin Tafa in just 35 seconds after landing just one elbow in the clinch is the type of clip the UFC should be posting on all their social media accounts.

Part of me would’ve been curious to see him go up against fellow 6’7” giant Robelis Despaigne, but the Cuban was released last year. Some people are calling for Teixeira to be fast tracked to the rankings to breathe some life into the division. At just 25, there’s no rush for him to be fighting the Derrick Lewises of the world yet, no matter how fun that matchup would be. Instead, I believe the promotion should be looking to make Teixeira their Rookie of the Year and have him fight 4, maybe even 5 times this year. The man has an average fight time of 1:56, he should have no problem getting at least one fight in every quarter of the year just like Carlos Prates did in 2024. For that, he needs an opponent who the promotion can expect to offer a relatively low amount of resistance. I went with Sean Sharaf, but Lukasz Brzeski or even the other Tafa brother are fine options as well.

Teixeira’s next fight: Sean Sharaf

Jake Matthews

The still only 30-year-old Matthews got a consummate, professional win on Saturday, soundly beating the young Francisco Prado, who was making a move up in weight. It wasn’t the most astonishing performance, but “The Celtic Kid” showed levels against a dangerous youngster with a 100% finish rate, with 9 of his 12 wins coming in the very first round.

Matthews called for a fight with Neil Magny. I don’t think Matthews deserves a shot at the rankings just yet, but now that Magny isn’t ranked anymore, that is a matchup I can get behind. Beating the veteran Magny would give Matthews a third consecutive victory and then he’d probably be looking at a ranked opponent. And coming off back-to-back 1^st-round KO losses to Michael Morales and Carlos Prates, Magny has never looked as vulnerable as he does right now. Taking all of that into account, this was a smart and calculated callout from the Australian.

Matthews has been in the promotion for 11 years and is 10-4 in his last 14 fights. This is an opportunity he has earned the hard way, and I’m inclined to give it to him.

Matthews’ next fight: Neil Magny

The post What’s Next: UFC 312 Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.