Khamzat Chimaev Opens as Favorite to Dethrone Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319

Khamzat Chimaev is positioned as the betting favorite in his upcoming bid for a first UFC championship.

UFC CEO Dana White recently confirmed that Chimaev is scheduled to challenge Dricus du Plessis for the middleweight title. This highly anticipated bout is set to headline UFC 319, taking place on August 16th at the United Center in Chicago.

According to the initial odds released by FanDuel, the challenger opens as a substantial favorite at -194, representing nearly a two-to-one advantage. The current middleweight champion, du Plessis, is listed as the underdog with odds of +150.

These implied probabilities suggest Chimaev has approximately a 66 percent chance of winning the fight. A $100 wager on Chimaev would return a profit of $51.55 (total return $151.55), while the same $100 bet on du Plessis would yield a profit of $150 (total return $250).

Chimaev`s path to this title opportunity follows what many consider the most impressive performance of his career: a dominant first-round submission victory over Robert Whittaker in the co-main event of UFC 308 last October in Abu Dhabi. Despite this being “Borz`s” first fight in over a year, and only his third since September 2022, the performance was compelling enough to earn him this long-awaited shot at the championship.

Du Plessis captured the middleweight title by defeating Sean Strickland via decision at UFC 297 in January 2024. According to the report, he has since defended the belt twice, first with a stoppage victory over Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 last August, and then with a dominant decision win in a rematch against Strickland at UFC 312 in February.