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Stream UFC 319 on ESPN+ https://plus.espn.com/ufc/ppv
UFC Live’s Dan Hellie, Din Thomas, Chris Weidman and Alan Jouban preview the middleweight title fight between Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev. They also break down the co-main event as Aaron Pico makes his Octagon debut vs. Lerone Murphy plus Charles Oliveira vs. Rafael Fiziev being announced for the UFC’s return to Rio on Oct. 11.
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Video Transcript
in Chicago. It is middleweight title on
the line. Drius Duploy facing Hamzad
Chamayak. This is the one we have been
waiting for. Hamzad is obviously coming
in undefeated. You got DDP who's trying
to defend his title for a third time.
This has to be the toughest test yet for
Driers.
Absolutely. But DDP, he had us all
fooled with his awkward style. No one
thought this guy was going to be
anything, but he made us all put our
foot in our mouths because he's passed
every test that has been put in front of
him. He's been able to take guys down.
He's got power. He's got a gas tank. And
there was a point where we said, "This
guy doesn't have any gas." But he showed
us all differently. He showed us that
he's hasn't been able to been beaten. No
one has been able to figure out the
puzzle of DDP. And what stands out the
most about him is his confidence. He's
the champion for a reason and he knows
it and he believes in himself.
And you have Chamay who's coming off
that brutal first round finish against
Robert Whitaker. He's looked unbeatable
at times. Some people have questioned
his gas tank, but that's about it. I
think this is the fight that we're not
going to question. He's done everything
possible to make sure that No Stone has
been left unturned in terms of the
cardio and the gas tank to be able to
push himself the right amount of pace
for possibly five rounds. But this is a
guy throughout his career that has not
needed to go five rounds. Within a
matter of seconds, he's taken that quick
penetration step. Put guys on their
back. As you said, Robert Whitaker
crushed him. Crushed his teeth. Knocked
teeth out of his mouth. That's the type
of strength that this man possesses.
He's abnormally strong no matter what
weight division he's in. He's been the
boogeyman in this division. He's finally
getting that title shot. Going to see if
he can keep that undefeated record
intact.
I don't think you could pick two two
guys who came on the scene completely
different than these two guys. Chamay
comes on the scene. We watch him in his
first fight during COVID and everyone
right away is like this guy is a
champion in the making. Who's going to
beat him immediately? Then he had some
uh he got real sick I think with COVID
long co then he had some visa issues. So
it slowed down his progression be
becoming a champion but he's still
undefeated and now it's his time. He's
going against DDP who like you said man
nobody believed in this guy until he was
a champion basically. I mean but he's
beat Whitaker. He's beat Strickland
twice. He's beat Addison. He's beat the
who's who of the middleweight division.
He has everybody's respect right now and
he's going for his third title defense
against the boogeyman.
Yeah, it's pretty incredible. A
different path obviously, but maybe
similar to Charles Olivivera. Early in
his career, people didn't really believe
in him. Same thing with DDP now a
champion. And if he wins this one, he's
creeping up on one of the longest
middleweight title reigns in history. If
he wins this and then fights again, he
might be passing the guy who's sitting
here at the desk. Young man,
that's a that's a good point. You really
do your research, it's unbelievable what
the producers teach.
No, you know what? It's funny because I
think the title defense thing is really
how I always judge like who the greatest
is, you know, because it was starting
with Anderson Silva, all of his title
defenses. And that's kind of how I
always I always judge the champions, how
long they hold their belt, how many
title defenses they had. And here he is
pretty quickly going for his third title
defense. Yeah, I defended my belt three
times. So if he he if he does this, you
know, we're tired.
You're sitting at third longest all time
in the middleweight division behind
Anderson Silva and Izzy. And here comes
DDP. Maybe maybe he'll dethrone the
great Chris Weidman at some point. We'll
see. All right, let's take a look at the
rest of the fight card. It is packed
with goodness here. Tim Elliot and Kaio
Sakura in the opener. Jared Cananir
trying to solve the riddle that is
Michael Venom Paige. We have ranked
welterweights Jeff Neil and Carlos
Protest. Going to be a great fight. And
Aaron Pico making his UFC debut in the
co-main event against Loron Murphy. A
short notice call for the unbeaten
Murphy. Huge opportunity for both men.
Pico, the latest former Bellator star
thrust into a big spot in his debut and
he is a finisher. Allan and Dan, I got
to say, Aaron Pico might be my favorite
signing of the UFC ever. And when he
comes from another organization, this is
the guy. This guy has a phenomenal
wrestler. He has equated his skill set
into being a phenomenal boxer. He has
one punch, I mean one punch, lights out
type of knockout power. And this is a
guy that his strongest asset I think is
between the ears. But I've never talked
to someone who was so focused and
motivated in getting a huge opportunity
here against Lone Murphy.
And for Murphy, this was a no-brainer to
take this fight. I'm sure not.
Absolutely. Think about this. This guy
is 16 and0 and he has quietly snuck his
way into this spot now. Despite this
being the debut for Pico, this will be
the biggest fight for Lone Murphy. He is
so good at everything that he does. He's
fast. He he navigates his his footwork
around the cage well and he finds ways
to win despite what happens in the
fight. This is a big spot for him. And
I'm thinking, listen, a win over Aaron
Pico, even though this is a debut for
Aaron Pico, a win on that Saturday night
puts him in a position to fight for a
championship.
Bro, let me let me tell you about Aaron
Pico. I've been watching that kid since
he's in high school wrestling. He was
one of the best wrestlers ever in high
school. He could have had any division
one scholarship that he wanted. But he
also around that same time became a
Golden Glove champion while he was in
high school. So now he has the
wrestling, he has the boxing, he starts
his u his MMA debut very early at 20
years old. He loses his first fight to a
pretty experienced fighter against
guillotines and they're like, "Oh, I
cannot believe this dude lost. He has
everything." And he started working his
way up and he had a couple of the losses
in there. So he's had the experience,
but this kid is the new boogeyman of the
UFC. I I don't think I've ever been more
high on somebody coming to the UFC than
Aaron P. So good.
Speak on his mindset one last time.
Brandon Gibson, his striking coach, the
same striking coach of the great Jon
Jones. It says all the fighters I've
ever worked with, this is the hardest
worker, the toughest mindset he's ever
worked with throughout his career. This
guy is the real deal.
And oh, by the way, didn't he go to the
Olympic Training Center for wrestling
right out of high school, too? So, I
mean that he has that he has a lot of
things in his tool bag.
Good one,
five tool players, they would say, in
baseball. You know, the UFC announced on
Thursday that former lightweight champ
Charles Olivera and Rafael Faziv will
headline UFC Rio on October 12th. Faziv
obviously coming in off that win over
Ignasio Ba Mundes and Azer Bjan.
Olivivera fighting for the first time
since his loss to Ilia. Big spot for
both guys. Dino.
Yeah, this is a bounceback fight for
both guys. Aa always fun, always
dangerous and his entire career has been
storied with the comeback. But Faziv,
one of the most dynamic strikers in the
division, he needs this win because I
don't think that win over Bahamonga had
anybody convinced to erase those Gachi
fights. This is a big spot for both
guys, but for Vaze to be able to go down
to Brazil and get a win over Charles
Alivera would be massive. Yeah, this is
uh this is a scary one for me because
I'm a huge Charles Olivivera fan. We
came up in the same local promotion, the
Ring of Combat in Jersey, and I love
this dude, but he just was knocked
unconscious four and a half weeks ago.
first time that he was truly unconscious
in his career. And to book a fight this
close, you know, on a fight night in
Brazil, it makes me think like, why are
we doing this so soon? Are the coaches
and managers are they are they thinking
this is the best situation for him? And
he's going against Faze, who is a very
heavy hitter. You know, we've seen him
in the Gatei fights. He didn't drop
Gatechi. He gi was able to outstrike
him. But, you know, it is a tough fight.
It's a winnable fight for Charles, but
it's definitely a scary one.
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