The sole focus next month, in August, when UFC 319 goes down, will be on Dricus du Plessis‘ title defense against undefeated star Khamzat Chimaev. The fight fans are pretty excited about this one as it has the potential to be a ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate. However, the main event isn’t the only fight for the fans to look forward to, as Dana White added yet another fight to the card, involving top contenders.
Besides Khamzat Chimaev and Dricus du Plessis, Dana White has added some top names to the UFC 319 card. From former title contenders like Jared Cannonier to the exciting Michael ‘Venom’ Page, it’s a pretty stacked card as far as PPVs in 2025 are concerned. Meanwhile, the middleweight champion also got the fans stoked when he mentioned a rumored co-main event in his headlining event.
Yes, just last month, Dricus du Plessis really took the fans on a rollercoaster ride when he claimed Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje would be competing in the co-main event of UFC 319. But much to the dismay of the fans, ‘Stillknocks’ backtracked on his statements and squashed those rumors. Well, that might have been pretty disappointing, but there is nothing for the fans to worry about because Dana White has added Fighting Nerds star Carlos Prates to the PPV.
Despite suffering his first UFC loss in his last fight against Ian Garry, Carlos Prates has been very impressive inside the Octagon. He’d be looking to make an impact at UFC 319 as he takes on a veteran in Geoff Neal, with the two top 15 welterweight contenders seeing the fight get re-booked. This fight was initially planned for UFC 314, but an injury forced ‘Handz of Steel’ to pull out.
With Dana White adding exciting matchups to UFC 319, this would work wonders for Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev. As the champion is likely to receive more pay-per-view points, Khamzat Chimaev will witness his title fight garnering more attention with an increase in viewership. However, for ‘Borz’, a title win could mean the end of the road for him, as per a middleweight star’s recent statement.
Khamzat Chimaev may retire after beating Dricus du Plessis
Caio Borralho recently made a shocking statement that has got the whole MMA community talking, including top analysts. He claims to have heard rumors about Khamzat Chimaev potentially hanging up his gloves if he wins the middleweight title next month. If ‘Borz’ makes that move, it would come as a huge surprise since he’s in the prime of his career. However, Borralho, who wasn’t sure if these rumors were true, believes Chimaev’s retirement decision could have something to do with his health issues.
“I heard somewhere, some people saying that if he wins the belt, he’s gonna retire. And I think so. There’s some little talks, some whispers about that. If he wins the belt, he retires. I’m not sure of that. I don’t know if I believe that or not, but it’s an option,” Caio Borralho told MMA Today during a recent interview. “There’s too much pressure on him. Health problems and a lot of pressure from his country. I don’t know. Maybe he retires, maybe not.”
Well, Khamzat Chimaev hasn’t said anything on that front as of now, so fans may not need to worry about that just yet. There are a lot of exciting fights on UFC 319, and that’s always good news for MMA enthusiasts. As such, let us know what you think about Dana White’s latest addition to the PPV in August in the comments down below.
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