International Fight Week is perhaps over, but the largest fight of the yr has yet to return.
The UFC has a stacked summer schedule with 4 pay-per-view events and only a few trips to the crowdless UFC Apex.
The premier promotion crowned a champion at UFC 316 and UFC 317, which saw Ilia Topuria turn out to be a two-division champion with a large knockout of Charles Oliveira last weekend.
While Topuria and Oliveira are each marquee names, two undefeated UFC fighters may need them beat for 2025’s most anticipated fight at UFC 319.
Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 gets ‘UFC 229’ style poster
There’s high stakes within the middleweight division this August.
UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus du Plessis is ready to defend his title for a 3rd time when he meets highly-touted Chechen prodigy Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 on Aug. 16 in Chicago.
Du Plessis and Chimaev enter the title fight with an incredible combined 25-fight win streak.
Chimaev is 14-0 as a professional with back-to-back wins over former champions Kamaru Usman and Robert Whittaker. The champion Du Plessis has never lost within the Octagon and is riding an 11-fight win streak. Du Plessis stopped Whittaker in two rounds and gave all-time great Israel Adesanya his first submission loss.
The middleweights recieved a minimalistic poster for his or her upcoming title fight.
The colours resemble those of the UFC 229 poster between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, which is deemed the largest fight in MMA history for its heated rivalry.
“That is the very best fight of the yr and it’s not close,” one fan reacted to the poster on X.
“Not if it ends in 30 [seconds],” one other replied.
“In that case, it is perhaps the very best 30 seconds in history. Two wild dogs,” the fan responded.
Middleweights are split on who wins Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev
Du Plessis vs. Chimaev is some of the interesting stylistic matchups we’ve seen in recent memory.
It’s a battle of skill vs. will as Chimaev has dominated most of his opponents together with his high-level grappling, shattering his last opponent’s jaw with a neck crank.
Meanwhile, du Plessis is as unorthodox as they arrive, however the South African is effective in whatever he does, whether that’s tapping out Adesanya or putting on a striking clinic against Sean Strickland in his most up-to-date title defense.
Darren Till, a UFC middleweight who trained with Chimaev and went 3 rounds with du Plessis has picked Chimaev to win at UFC 319.
Strickland, who went 10 rounds with du Plessis and has trained with Chimaev, predicts du Plessis handy Chimaev his first loss.