Chimaev wins UFC middleweight belt by unanimous decision

CHICAGO — Khamzat Chimaev continued his dominance in the UFC, capturing the middleweight belt Saturday by defeating Dricus Du Plessis by unanimous decision at UFC 319. With a smile on his face, Chimaev (15-0) shot out of his corner in the first round with a takedown of Du Plessis (23-3) in the opening seconds and had Du Plessis on his back for almost the entire first round. Despite the ground control by Chimaev, Du Plessis avoided significant damage in the first round. Chimaev continued with takedowns in the second and third rounds, and Chimaev's grappling skills took their toll on Du Plessis in the third round, where Chimaev landed a series of blows while Du Plessis was on his back. Chimaev continued the ground game on Du Plessis in the fourth round. Chimaev, who has alluded a championship fight since joining the UFC in 2020, gave credit to Du Plessis for challenging him. "That guy is tough to finish. Respect that guy. (Du Plessis) was the only champion to say 'I'm in.' This guy has a big heart," said Chimaev. Du Plessis showed life late in the fifth round with a takedown and attempted a guillotine, but it was too little too late. For most of the fight, it was a complete domination of the former champ. "Nobody wants to be in a crucifix getting punched in the head like that. It's got to be the most frustrating, suck the heart and soul out of you. Just getting dominated on the ground like the way he did is no fun for everybody," UFC president Dana White said. All three judges scored the fight 50-44. "At the end, I went for it, had the back. I can almost taste the victory. He beat me fair and square tonight; he was the better man tonight. I'll be back," said Du Plessis. The UFC returned to Chicago for the first time in six years, making it the highest-grossing event at the United Center. The main card featured two spinning elbow first-round finishes by Carlos Prates and Lerone Murphy. In the co-main event, Murphy (17-0-1), who took the fight on three weeks' notice, fended off an early rush from Aaron Pico (13-5) with a right spinning elbow to end Pico's night with a loss in his UFC debut in the featherweight division. Murphy, with his brilliant finish, put himself in a position to face Alex Volkanovski for the featherweight belt. Prates (22-7) won spectacularly in the first round with the ninth spinning elbow finish in UFC history by knocking out Geoff Neal (16-7), rebounding from his loss to Ian Machado Garry in April. It was the first time Neal suffered a knockout loss. White promised Prates a fight in his home country Oct. 11 in Rio de Janeiro. Michael Page (24-3) dropped Jared Cannonier (19-10) by knocking him down with a right hand in the first round and sent him back to the ground in the second round with a combination to win by unanimous decision in the middleweight fight. Timothy Elliott (22-13-1) opened the five-fight main card with a guillotine finish in the second round over Kai Askura (21-6). Askura had his way with Elliott most of the first round by outstriking the veteran, but a late takedown in the first round changed the momentum, leading to an upset win for Elliott in the flyweight division.