Chicago was a lively crowd all week for the UFC festivities; there was not an empty chair in the United Center. Dana White, president of the UFC, said the recorded attendance reached 20,023, the highest grossing event in arena history.

When asked why it had taken six years to return to Chicago, White said the Covid-19 pandemic played a major role in the long absence.

“When everything opened up again, I was only going to states that were easy to do business in,” he said.

Although White said he was unsure of how soon the UFC would return to Chicago, he mentioned his love for the city. 

“I’m glad we chose to come here with this fight,” White said.

Dricus Du Plessis, the middleweight champion, headlined UFC 319 on August 16 against Khamzat Chimaev, the division’s third-ranked contender.

The two fighters had undefeated records prior to their meeting in Chicago — however, it was Chimaev who left the fight still undefeated. He dominated Du Plessis for all five rounds, recording a 50-44 decision on all three judges’ scorecards.

Dana White, said in the post fight press conference, “I had every round a 10-8 (for Chimaev), maybe except for the last round.”

A new champion may have emerged in the main event, but the earlier fights stole the spotlight.

Lerone Murphy, an undefeated featherweight contender, faced off against Aaron Pico. Pico made his UFC debut after his tenure in Bellator, the second biggest MMA promotion at the time.

Pico was favored to win coming into the fight with his mix of championship level wrestling and fast hands.

Murphy remained undefeated as he knocked Pico out in three minutes and 21 seconds of the first round.

“I’m one of the best technicians in the game and I knew from watching tape on him, where he would put his head,” Murphy said.

The calculated knockout seemed to earn the attention of Featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski, who posted on X, “See you in December @LeroneMurphy.”

Murphy’s spinning back elbow knockout was one of two spin back elbow finishes. Carlos Prates stunned the Chicago crowd with a spinning back elbow of his own to UFC veteran, Geoff Neal, to finish the fight with one second to spare in the first round.

The spinning back elbow is a difficult and rare move used in the UFC. Only ten fighters have finished a fight using the move. The move involves spinning at the precise moment the opponent begins to attack, hitting the opponent with the back portion of your elbow.

Asked before the fight if he’d hunt for a quick knockout, Prates made clear he valued a win over a flashy finish.

He accomplished both in Chicago and now gets to fight in Rio de Janeiro— his wish for the evening.

“I want to celebrate and go to some parties — celebrate my birthday, my victory, my bonus. And then back to the gym and keep focused on the Rio card,” Prates said.

The main card saw many talents that made their name outside of the promotion, notably Michael Page, who fought in Bellator for nearly a decade.

Page, a traditional welterweight, moved up a division to compete against ninth ranked middleweight, Jared Cannonier. This was Page’s second fight at middleweight in the UFC.

Page expressed in pre-fight interviews that he believed his power didn’t translate well at middleweight . However, in the fight he was able to drop Cannonier and secured a 29-28 decision win.

After the fight, Page expressed his wishes to return to his traditional division for his next fight.

“When I landed that shot clean and I saw him wobble, I was like ‘Oh yeah, yeah, I’m a middleweight.’ And then he laid on top of me, I was like, ‘Okay, I’m a welterweight.’”

To open the exciting night of action, Kai Asakura, former champion of Rizin, Japan’s biggest MMA promotion, lost in an upset to UFC flyweight pioneer, Tim Elliot.

Before the fight, Elliot stated he was the gatekeeper of the flyweight division and “if you can’t beat Tim Elliot, maybe you are not quite there yet.”

Elliot is content with his role in the division and hopes to re-negotiate his contract with the UFC soon.

Other notable wins on the preliminary card include Baisangur Susurkaev winning his second fight in one week after receiving a contract just four days before UFC 319.

Joseph Morales, who made his UFC debut in 2017, secured the finals of the UFC’s Ultimate Fighter reality tv tournament to earn a UFC contract. This is Morales’s second run in the UFC and said he is ready to compete with the best in the flyweight division.