UFC 319 did not disappoint the Illinois crowd as there were plenty of knockouts and submissions to witness.
Some fighters prevailed on their UFC debut, while others could only suffer a devastating defeat.
However, amongst all the action that took place at United Center, there was one moment which took the headlines.
Here is what happened in this truly extraordinary fight card.
Chimaev dethrones Du Plessis
With a very exciting build-up, the battle was not quite what fans would have liked to watch, but that is MMA.
Khamzat Chimaev was key on doing one thing and one thing only, which was wrestling.
‘Borz’ took down Dricus Du Plessis 12 times out of 17 attempts as the South African failed to stay on his feet.
It was an excellent game plan for the United Arab Emirates fighter who grappled his way to victory.
‘Stilknocks’ did not go down without a slight fight, attempting one Guillotine Choke and occasionally striking in round five.
But the former King of the Middleweights could barely stay on his feet as Chimaev earned just under 22 minutes of control time in the entire five-round war.
The Russian-born mixed martial artist stays undefeated after winning by unanimous decision, with all judges scoring the battle 50-44.
Chimaev’s first title defence will most likely be against the winner of UFC Paris’ main event between Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho.
Murphy makes title contention statement
While Aaron Pico was bringing the hype from Bellator to his first UFC introduction, it was a surprise to see Murphy head into the co-main event as the underdog.
The Manchester-born fighter was undefeated and had far more experience in the organisation.
Especially after defeating Josh Emmett, Dan Ige and Edson Barboza in his last three fights.
‘The Miracle’ did add Pico to the list after leaving the crowd in awe with a first-round spinning back elbow KO.
In such a remarkable fashion, the #6 Featherweight contender proved that he could step up to anyone.
After all, this co-main event took place on short notice, meaning that something had to be delivered.
While Murphy remains unstoppable, questions are asked if he will be the next to face Alexander Volkanovski.
The UFC Featherweight Champion was impressed with the performance, offering to fight Murphy in December.
What else happened at UFC 319?
Speaking of spinning back elbow knockouts, Carlos Prates earned one of his own.
The Brazilian stopped Geoff Neal right at the end of the first round to secure redemption from his previous loss.
‘The Nightmare’ moves up to #11 in the Welterweight rankings as he continues to have a 100% knockout rate in the UFC.
Not only that, he may have just made the Fighting Nerds more terrifying with three other fighters from that team who soon compete.
Michael ‘Venom’ Page proved to be a tough match for Jared Cannonier as he went the distance to win by unanimous decision.
The London-born fighter will move into the top 10 of the Middleweight rankings, making him a problem in this division.
Tim Elliott returned from injury to secure a second consecutive submission victory, stopping Kai Asakura with a Mounted Guillotine Choke.
The 38-year-old keeps his position in the Flyweight rankings, while Asakura still searches for his first UFC triumph.
Four days after his victory on Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS), Baisangur Susurkaev made his UFC debut.
The Russian submitted Eric Nolan with a second-round Rear-Naked Choke in the featured prelim.
Michal Oleksiejczuk earned his second consecutive first-round knockout win after defeating Gerald Meerschaert.
‘Hussar’ earned his first two-fight win streak since December 2022. Since joining the Fighting Nerds, he looks incredible.
Loopy Godinez defeated former UFC Strawweight Champion Jessica Andrade by unanimous decision.
The Mexican makes it two-in-a-row and will rise to #5 in the 115-pound rankings.
Alexander Hernandez pulled off a shock defeat as he beat highly viewed Lightweight prospect Chase Hooper.
‘The Great Ape’ managed to knock out Hooper in the nick of time before the end of round one.
Drakkar Klose claimed redemption as he defeated Edson Barboza by unanimous decision.
Karine Silva also earned a redeeming win, going to the judges’ scorecards to beat Dione Barbosa by unanimous decision.
Finally, Joseph Morales won The Ultimate Fighter: Season 33 in the first fight of UFC 319.
‘Bopo’ submitted Alibi Idiris with a Triangle Choke in the second round in his return to the organisation.