It’s pay-per-view week in the UFC, with UFC 319 going down on Saturday from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Our main event is a very intriguing matchup for the UFC Middleweight Championship, and there are plenty of other interesting fights spread throughout the now 13-fight card (15 fights were originally scheduled). Here are your UFC 319 predictions & best bets to make Saturday night profitable.
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UFC 319 Predictions & Best Bets
Dricus du Plessis (+210) vs Khamzat Chimaev
Dricus du Plessis is not just improbably the UFC Middleweight Champion, but he also has two successful defenses of that title under his belt. And here I am picking him to win over the seemingly unstoppable Khamzat Chimaev.
The main reason is that Chimaev is only unstoppable for one round, then he runs out of steam. While DDP looks like he’s always out of gas, he never stops pushing in a fight. I think he can survive Chimaev’s first-round blitz and drag him into the deep waters of the later rounds. While it looks like he can’t fight and is uncoordinated, DDP finds a way to win, and at the very least, he’ll fight for our money.
Lerone Murphy (+156) vs Aaron Pico
I’m going double dog to kick things off here. Former Olympic alternate wrestler and Golden Gloves champion boxer Aaron Pico makes his UFC debut on Saturday after going 13-4 in the now-defunct Bellator. And he’s not being given a warm-up fight, facing the undefeated Lerone Murphy in his debut fight.
I’m going with the Brit. Murphy has faced, and beaten, far better competition than Pico has seen in his career, and Bellator fighters have all looked very poor in their UFC debuts lately. The bright lights will be nothing new to Murphy.
Carlos Prates (-233) vs Geoff Neal
No dog in the third fight from the top, a welterweight matchup between Brazilian Carlos Prates and American Geoff Neal. Neal, while still a solid fighter, is well past his prime at this point.
And Prates is a killer. He’s bigger, younger, and more dangerous than Neal. Once he downloads all the info he needs on Saturday night, Prates will unload.
Kai Asakura (-300) vs Tim Elliott
After failing to capture the UFC Flyweight Championship in his UFC debut, Kai Asakura gets a bounce-back fight on Saturday against crafty veteran Tim Elliott.
Elliott isn’t just crafty – he’s downright weird in the cage. But he hasn’t fought since December 2023, and while he’s a tricky grappler and scrambler, Asakura should have the skills to pass this test.
Bryan Battle (-157) vs Nursulton Ruziboev
Bryan Battle makes his return to middleweight after failing to make weight at welterweight twice. However, he’s in much better physical shape now moving back to 185 pounds, so it’s a good move.
And he’s a better all-around fighter than Nursulton Ruziboev, who is overrated due to his gaudy-looking record. Battle will outwork him on Saturday night.
Check out the MMA Gambling Podcast if you’d like even more UFC 319 picks. The guys are dropping five episodes a week to make you the smartest guy at the bar.
