Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) held its official pre-fight press conference on Thursday (watch here) for the upcoming UFC 319 pay-per-view (PPV) event, locked and loaded for this Sat. (Aug 16, 2025) inside the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. All 10 main card combatants (plus a Middleweight Prelim) were on hand this afternoon and came face-to-face at the conclusion of the UFC 319 press conference festivities.
That includes the headliners, Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev. Du Plessis defends his UFC Middleweight title for the third time in a highly anticipated fight against Chimaev, who is finally getting a crack at UFC gold. In the co-main event, former Bellator star Aaron Pico makes his UFC debut against the U.K.’s Lerone Murphy. In addition, knockout artists collide as Geoff Neal takes on Carlos Prates, former title challenger Jared Cannonier fights Michael Page, and Japanese star Kai Asakura takes on Tim Elliott.
UFC also added newcomers Baysangur Susurkaev and Eric Nolan to the stacked lineup.
Watch the staredowns below.
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 319 fight card, starting with the ESPN/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 319: “du Plessis vs. Khamzat” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.