The greatest sport on the planet heads to Chi-Town this weekend in anticipation for a UFC Middleweight title fight between champion Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev.
Chicago has not hosted a UFC PPV event since June of 2019 so the local fans will no doubt be out in droves to witness what is one of the best title fights in recent memory.
As is always the case with UFC cards, the main event will not be the only entertaining fight displayed and there is plenty to look forward to right across the main card and prelims.
I’ve taken a close look at the PPV card and, coming off a three for three weekend, I’ve offered my betting plays below.
It is not often that you get two undefeated fighters facing off for a world title but that is exactly what we get in the Main Event on Sunday.
South African Dricus Du Plessis is undefeated since arriving in the UFC back in 2020 and it was a quick rise to the top of the division thanks to wins over the likes of Derek Brunson, Darren Till and Rob Whittaker.
An example of the new breed of MMA fighter who is extremely well rounded, he took the belt off Sean Strickland, defended against Israel Adesanya and then beat Strickland again for his second defence.
Chechnyan wrestler Khamzat Chimaev was quickly labelled the bogeyman of the division after four finishes in just over one year of entering the UFC.
This included breaking the UFC record of quickest turnaround wins in the modern era when he knocked out Rhys Mckee and then Gerald Meerschaert within 10 days of each other.
He’s had 14 pro MMA fights without loss and only two have required the judges to decide the winner.
One of those decisions was against Gilbert Burns when I believe he was fortunate to get the nod from the officials and the judges were not unified in their decision when former welterweight Kamaru Usman met him at middleweight this time two years ago.
There is evidence to suggest Khamzat has an incredible ability to beat up or quickly submit those at the bottom of the rankings but struggle when the fight takes place on the feet or enters the later rounds.
He dismissed that point of view against Robert Whittaker, a known wrestler and former champion, this time last year when he locked in a first round face crank that essentially broke the Aussie’s face.
There is no doubting the wrestling prowess of Khamzat Chimaev and his ability to rag doll his opponent’s at times has been incredible to witness however he is not an active fighter, and he faces an opponent that will likely drag him into the deep end of the pool during the later rounds of the fight.
Chimaev has never seen a fourth round, and if he cannot get this fight to the canvas in the early rounds, he will struggle to win the fight in my opinion.
OTHER BET: ½ Unit Du Plessis in round 4, 5 or by decision @ $4.75
Hailing from Manchester, England Lerone Murphy is undefeated in 17 professional MMA fights which includes eight straight wins in the UFC since 2020.
The 34 year-old has the biggest win of his career when winning a unanimous decision against Josh Emmett in April and is searching for a title fight with a quick back up just four months later.
The UFC has tightened its stranglehold on the sport of MMA in recent years and has therefore seen a wave of talent cross over from other promotions with mixed success for those fighters.
Former PFL champion Kayla Harrison has claimed UFC gold since her arrival, as has former two-time Glory kickboxing champion Alex Pereira but Bellator fighters have had their struggles.
Aaron Pico started his pro career in Bellator in 2017 going 12-4 including eight wins by knockout.
His resume is impressive but Dana White and the match makers love to initiate these new fighters to a high ranking and experienced UFC fighter on a winning streak and I think they do it for good reason.
Throw them to the wolves to either prove the UFC is the best of the best or find out if they have a real star on their hands.
The fact Lerone Murphy comes into this fight as the underdog either means the punters believe Pico is the real deal, or they haven’t realised that the best fighters, especially in these lower divisions are in the UFC.
Geoff Neal has played gatekeeper in the welterweight division for quite some time now and he’s done a darn good job at it.
Since making his debut in the UFC via Dana White’s Contender Series in 2017, Neal has gone 8-4 with notable scalps including Belal Muhammad, Vicente Luque and Rafael dos Anjos.
Three of his four losses have been via decision and the judges didn’t unanimously agree on the decision when he lost to Ian Garry in February 2024.
Carlos Prates is a member of the Brazilian fighting nerds who have been on a tear in recent years.
He is a black belt in BJJ but it is his kickboxing and Muay Thai that has set him apart from his challengers since arriving in the UFC and 16 of his 21 pro MMA victories have been by knockout.
Trevin Giles, Li Jingliang and Neil Magny have all been finished by Prates however he lost his first fight since 2019 against Ian Garry in April.
I’m not expecting this fight to go to a decision and from everything I hear from Geoff Neal he will be fighting fire with fire in this match up against a very dangerous finisher.
OTHER BET: ¼ Unit Geoff Neal To Win BY KO/TKO @ $5.75
After beating Derek Brunson in a title eliminator fight back in 2022, Cannonier has now gone 3-3 in the UFC.
He has fought in three weight classes during his career but found a home at middleweight where he has had his most success.
A two fight losing streak was broken in the main event in Las Vegas against Gregory Rodriguez via a fourth round stoppage in February and he’ll be looking to again climb the rankings at age 41.
Former Bellator champion Michael Venom Page was thrown into the deep end by the UFC when making his debut in the biggest promotion in the sport and passed the test by beating Kevin Holland back in March of 2024.
He then lost a decision to Ian Garry but halted the Shara Bullet train by defeating the Russian in Saudi Arabia back in February.
It’s always entertaining when MVP enters the octagon and I’m predicting he can get his first finish against an aging stalwart like Jared Cannonier.
Elliot fought in the inaugural flyweight championship title fight against Demetrious Johnson in 2016 but lost a decision and he has had mixed success since.
Unfortunately he tore his ACL in 2018 and lost three fights in a row upon return although it must be stated those were against some extremely tough opponents in Deiveson Figueiredo, Askar Askarov and Brandon Royval.
Since those losses he has gone 5-2 and he was forced to withdraw from his fight against Tatsuro Taira which was scheduled to take place in May due to an undisclosed injury.
Kai Asakura is a former Rizin Bantamweight champion who signed with the UFC last year.
He fought for the UFC flyweight title on debut and lost via submission to champion Alexandre Pantoja.
Asakura is a much better fighter than he looked during that performance, he just ran into the best flyweight on planet earth on debut.
13 of his 21 pro MMA wins have been by knockout and I’m predicting the Japanese fighter to get back into the win column and therefore the title picture.