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The UFC left no hype unturned on fight day by announcing the long-awaited UFC 319, scheduled to air at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV from Chicago. The promotional image annoyed some fans even with the splitface graphic of the main event fighters atop the Chicago skyline.
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Reactions poured in moments later, with excitement digging deep into global enthusiasm. A fan from South Africa roared, “From South Africa, let’s go!” while others weighed in, with one stating, “DDP stops this dude,” apparently having an opinion on Dricus Du Plessis. The buzz was international, with folks wanting to know local start times-from India, Indonesia, to Pakistan.
CHICAGO, TODAY’S THE DAY 🚨#UFC319 is FINALLY here!!
[ 10pmET on @ESPNPlus PPV | B2YB @19Crimes ] pic.twitter.com/Axz9evECY7
— UFC (@ufc) August 16, 2025
Others were unsatisfied. These people went into a tizzy over the $1,000-plus ticket price, with one sarcastically thanking UFC “for making the tickets 1k a person,” and another calling it “a mortgage payment.” Bad press for the prices did cause some dissatisfaction despite the much-promoted event.
Regarding the undercard, it provided so much room for disagreement. Some considered it the “biggest fight the UFC has made in years,” whereas others said “One fight on the ppv worth watching. What a joke.” The debates grew more intense with the standpoint shifted to the main-event result, where arguments were put up for and against.
A likely-to-win supporter of Chimaev had said, without any shadow of doubt: “khamzat will win. ALLAH HU AKBAR.” However, the opposing camp of Du Plessis made their stance quite clear, putting forth detailed analysis: “DDP escapes the 1st 1.5 rounds of pressure, he gets a round 3 KO.” The trash talk periodically crossed racial lines with an outrageous comment referring to Du Plessis as “that white nigga south african is a dead man walkin,” but, for the most part, the third-party observations stuck to fighting styles rather than personal insults.
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With less than four hours left until fight night time, the UFC world is more split than ever, with some willing to shrug off an instant classic and others stewing on promotion pricing and matchmaking. However, one fact remains: once the cage door closes tonight, every single online debate will be irrelevant as fists hit the air above Chicago for real.