Chris Weidman, a former UFC middleweight champion, has shared his prediction for the UFC 319 main event, set for August 16, 2025, at the United Center in Chicago. The reigning champion, Dricus Du Plessis, defends his middleweight title against undefeated challenger Khamzat Chimaev. Weidman believes Du Plessis’ endurance will secure him the win in this five-round fight, airing on ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, and ESPN+.
Weidman’s Breakdown
Weidman questions Chimaev’s ability to handle Du Plessis’ size.
“The question marks in my mind are: Has he ever fought a guy the size of DDP? I don’t think so,” Weidman told MMA Junkie.
He doubts Chimaev can control a 6-foot, 185-pound fighter like Du Plessis without losing stamina.
“Can you control a guy like that and hold onto your cardio with a guy like that? Does he have to finish him in the first two or three rounds? I think,” Weidman said.
He believes Chimaev’s best shot is an early finish.
“The only way I see Chimaev winning this fight is by a finish,” he added. “I don’t see him finishing him anything past three rounds. I think he has to win this fight in the first round. He needs to land a big shot on the feet and look to bring it to the ground for a submission or a ground-and-pound TKO. I don’t see him winning a five-round fight.”
Weidman sees Du Plessis’ size and style as a problem late in the fight.
“If you had to pick someone not to be tired against – standing with Du Plessis in the fourth or fifth round while you’re tired, and he doesn’t know what’s coming, you don’t know what’s coming, and he’s big and strong and sloppy and tenacious, it can be a real problem,” he said.
Endurance as the Deciding Factor
Weidman stresses cardio as the key.
“A lot of cardio comes down to not how good of shape you’re in or your resting heart rate. It comes down to genetically the kind of muscle you have, how explosive you are, the comfortability that you have inside the octagon in all aspects,” he explained.
Chimaev has worked on his stamina, but Weidman remains skeptical.
“The cardio aspect of it is just too much,” he said. “Any time it’s a close fight I have to go to cardio, and I know Chimaev has been working on his cardio, but sometimes when you work so hard on something and you get into the fight and it’s like, ‘Oh my God, I’m still tired.’ Is it almost worse that you did all that stuff, and it doesn’t change the way you thought it was going to. Is that a brain F of itself? I think DDP is going to win this fight just because of that.”
Chimaev showed fatigue in past fights, like his decision wins over Gilbert Burns at UFC 273 in 2022 and Kamaru Usman at UFC 294 in 2023. This is his first five-round fight, adding to the challenge. Du Plessis, however, went the distance in unanimous decision wins over Sean Strickland at UFC 297 in January 2024 and UFC 312 in 2025.
Weidman concludes, “If DDP loses, he’s going to get finished in the first round. If I had to put all my money on it, I’ll go with DDP on this one.”
Israel Adesanya and Michael Bisping, via a YouTube video, also favor Du Plessis in later rounds. Khabib Nurmagomedov advised Chimaev to strike rather than wrestle early. Du Plessis told FOX 32 News, “This is MMA, not wrestling.” Chimaev, in an ESPN MMA interview, said he’s prepared for five rounds.
A Du Plessis win could set up fights with Adesanya or Caio Borralho, the backup fighter. A Chimaev victory would make him the 15th UFC fighter to win an undisputed title undefeated. The card also includes Geoff Neal vs. Carlos Prates and Lerone Murphy vs. Aaron Pico.
