Outside Source
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Chicago with a middleweight title fight, which is now official following the UFC 319 weigh-ins.
The five-round main event will see Dricus Du Plessis look to defend his middleweight championship against undefeated challenger Khamzat Chimaev. Both champion and challenger had no issue making weight for the highly anticipated bout. As for the rest of the card, all fighters made weight with the exception of Bryan Battle, who unprofessionally came in at 190 pounds for his middleweight fight against Nursulton Ruziboev. He’ll be fined 30% of his purse as a result.
Du Plessis (23-2) has already made two successful title defenses since winning a split decision over Sean Strickland to claim the middleweight title. In his first defense, “Stillknocks” submitted former champ Israel Adesanya with a face crank. More recently, the 31-year-old won a clear-cut decision over Strickland in a rematch. The South African fighter stepped on the scale at 185 pounds on the dot.
Chimaev walks into the biggest fight of his career with a 14-0 record as a pro. “Borz” is coming off a brutal face crank submission triumph that broke the jaw of Robert Whittaker. Wins over Kamaru Usman, Kevin Holland and Gilbert Burns have cemented the 31-year-old as a top contender. Chimaev officially weighed 183 pounds for his first title shot.
UFC 319’s main card will air on ESPN+ pay-per-view starting at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on Saturday. Prelims begin at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT on ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass before moving to ESPN and ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
UFC 319 Weigh-in Results:
Dricus Du Plessis (185) vs. Khamzat Chimaev (183)
Lerone Murphy (146) vs. Aaron Pico (145)
Geoff Neal (171) vs. Carlos Prates (170)
Jared Cannonier (186) vs. Michael Page (186)
Kai Asakura (126) vs. Tim Elliott (126)
Eric Nolan (183) vs. Baysangur Susurkaev (186)
Gerald Meerschaert (185) vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk (186)
Jessica Andrade (116) vs. Lupita Godinez (115)
Alexander Hernandez (156) vs. Chase Hooper (155)
Edson Barboza (155.5) vs. Drakkar Klose (156)
Bryan Battle* (190) vs. Nursulton Ruziboev (186)
Dione Barbosa (125.5) vs. Karine Silva (125)
Alibi Idiris (126) vs. Joseph Morales (126)
Caio Borralho (184)**
* Battle missed weight by four pounds and will be fined 30% of his purse.
** Borralho weighed-in as a backup for the main event.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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