Latest UFC 319 Odds for Du Plessis vs. Chimaev and More

The UFC 319 odds promise a lot of excitement on Saturday, August 16, at Chicago’s United Center, from the very start of the evening. There are some spicy prelims and early prelims on the card, along with main card events that all have a Fight of the Night potential. 

Still, the main event is the one everyone’s talking about. It’s a clash for the UFC Middleweight title, currently held by Dricus du Plessis. But standing in his way is the undefeated Chechen wrecking ball, Khamzat Chimaev, who’s coming to take that belt.

Odds for UFC 319

BetOnline sits on the throne of the best UFC betting sites, and there’s a reason for that. Actually, there are many reasons, including this sportsbook’s promo, the Split-Draw Championship Refund. How it works is that if your DDP vs. Chimaev pick loses by a split decision, you’ll get your money back.

Another reason why BetOnline is perfect for MMA betting is that its UFC 319 odds are great. To see what I mean, just take a look at the table below.

The UFC 319 odds are close for practically all fights, with Chase Hooper being the strongest favorite at -270. In comparison, the biggest favorite at UFC 317 (Jacobe Smith) was priced at -1600. This illustrates just how exciting the August 16 event actually is. 

Most other favorites have odds of up to -200, including Khamzat Chimaev in the main event. “Borz” is priced at -185, meaning that oddsmakers believe there’s a decent chance that DDP will defend his title. 

The closest fight, based on UFC 319, is the early prelim between Edson Barboza and Drakkar Klose. Barboza is a -150 favorite, while Klose’s odds are +130. 

UFC 319 Main Event Preview

Khamzat Chimaev might be the scariest fighter on Earth. He looks scary, he hangs out with scary people (e.g., Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov), but the scariest thing about “Borz” is that he’s incredible inside the Octagon. Just think of what he did to Robert Whittaker last October.

Before that fight, I had my suspicions about this guy. While I never considered him a cheat, I did think he picked his fights carefully. But against Whittaker, Chimaev showed the world that he’s worth the hype. He dislocated Bobby’s teeth with a face crank. 

It was the most impressive submission win I’ve ever witnessed, and it happened against an elite opponent. But now, Khamzat is facing an even tougher challenge. DDP is better than Whittaker in practically everything, but is he better than Chimaev?

Well, he definitely isn’t as good a wrestler as Chimaev, who I think is the biggest takedown expert in the entire UFC. DDP’s TD defense is 50%, which is why I’m sure Chimaev will drop him to the ground. But can he finish him?

I think he can, and I think he’s planning to do so in the first or second round. There’s a big question mark over Khamzat’s stamina. He’s never stayed in the Octagon for longer than 15 minutes, so if the UFC 319 headliner drags on past Round 3, he’s in trouble. The easiest way to prevent gassing out is to finish DDP early on. 

Best UFC 319 Bets

Jared Cannonier a.k.a. “The Killa Gorilla” is a guy with 11 wins by KO/TKO in his portfolio. But I don’t think he can do it to MVP. Page is a whole different beast, someone with a high fight IQ who knows how to tire out his opponents (and win on points).

This is the guy who handed Shara Magomedov his first career loss last February, proving that he knows how to handle knockout artists. Before that fight, Shara had a win-to-knockout ratio of 85.71%.

Then, there’s Kai Asakura, a former RIZIN superstar whose UFC career started with a submission loss to Alexandre Pantoja in the fight for the UFC Flyweight title. Now, he’s got a chance to redeem himself with a win over Tim Elliott. 

While the 38-year-old veteran is better than him at wrestling, Asakura is superior in all other aspects — striking, agility, stamina, etc. 

Top UFC 319 Underdog Picks

Along with Khamzat Chimaev, Lerone Murphy is one of only seven ranked UFC fighters who are still undefeated. He’s 16-0 and is looking to get to a 17th win on August 16 against Aaron Pico, an elite wrestler who’s been incredible striking-wise lately, winning his last two fights by TKO.

But he’s only fought in PFL and Bellator, not the UFC. In fact, this is going to be his debut in Dana White’s promotion. And I think he’s gonna fail spectacularly, especially if he decides to go into a striking war with Murphy. If that’s his plan, he’s gonna get KO-ed.

Loopy Godinez is 13-5 with all five of her losses happening by decision. But that’s because she’s never fought against such a powerful finisher as Jessica Andrade. 

Sure, Loopy did beat a couple of elite strikers like Julia Polastri, Elise Reed, and Emily Ducote. She defeated them by utilizing her wrestling skills and landing a total of 11 takedowns in those three fights. 

I don’t think she can do the same against Andrade. While the former Women’s Strawweight champ and ex-Flyweight challenger isn’t the best female wrestler, she seems to have learned her lesson. 

I think Andrade has upped her TD defense since the fight with Valentina Shevchenko, in which she suffered 8 TDs in just 8 minutes and 19 seconds before getting TKO-ed.

If she can keep the fight standing, I think she can out-strike Loopy easily. The Mexican-Canadian fighter has never been KO-ed, but I can see her losing to Andrade by decision.

Best UFC 319 Prop Bets

Khamzat has only heard the final bell in two of his 14 fights, and neither of those was a 5-rounded (like the UFC 319 headliner). The first of those was the decision win over Gilbert Burns in 2022. 

He destroyed the Brazilian fighter in the first two rounds, but then looked horrible in the final round. Something similar happened against Kamaru Usman, which he won by majority decision after gassing out in the later stages of the fight.

Knowing this, I think that if he doesn’t finish DDP in the first two or three rounds, the reigning champ will finish him. I also think we’ll witness a finish in the Meerschaert vs. Oleksiejczuk fight. 

Meerschaert is a fantastic wrestler who could get a submission win over Oleksiejczuk unless the Polish striker finishes him first. I think the latter scenario is much more likely to happen. 

UFC 319 Full Card Predictions

I’m not bragging, but the last time I did a UFC preview (UFC 317), 10 of my 12 picks won. I’m also not bragging when I tell you that my top upset pick (Paulo Costa at +210) won as well. But I’ll be bragging if most of my UFC 319 picks win. 

As you can see from the UFC 319 odds, this is a tough event to predict, but I do have some bankers on my mind. I think the safest pick on the entire card is Lerone Murphy. His striking is at a McGregor level, and his opponent is far from being Khabib. 

I also think Michal Oleksiejczuk will run through Gerald Meerschaert, and Kai Asakura will probably do something similar to Tim Elliott. 

Michael Page won’t destroy Jared Cannonier, but I think he’ll win over the judges. I also suspect Jessica Andrade might out-strike Loopy Godinez. 

When it comes to the fights I’m not too sure about, the biggest question mark is hovering above the Geoff Neal vs. Carlos Prates matchup. Prates is a clear favorite, but I wouldn’t bet too much against a guy like Neal. 

And what about the main event? Well, I think Chimaev is the best grappler/wrestler in the UFC, but his gas tank is questionable. If DDP survives the first three rounds, he may be able to beat up Khamzat, and maybe even get a finish.

Betting on UFC 319

The UFC 319 headliner has the potential to be the fight of the year (or even the entire decade). They’re both incredible warriors, but my pick is Chimaev. I think he’s gonna get a finish early on, but if he fails, we could see him gas out.

In that case, DDP might finish him or beat him by a close decision. In case you’re worried that the latter might happen, bet on Chimaev at BetOnline. This way, if he loses by a split decision, you’ll get your stake back.

Other good UFC 319 bets include Lerone Murphy, who’s my top underdog pick, along with such sure bets as Michael Page, Kai Asakura, and Michal Oleksiejczuk.