Among the most prominent to send Pico a message was former lightweight and pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev, who had words of encouragement for the newcomer after a devastating first outing under the UFC banner. “Head up champ,” Makhachev commented.

The UFC paid out more than $300,000 in Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay to the veteran-heavy UFC 319 lineup.

Lerone Murphy's spinning-elbow knockout of Aaron Pico at UFC 319 may have just earned him a shot at featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski.

UFC 319 was a dramatic affair from Chicago, Illinois, with a 12-fight card headlined by Dricus du Plessis and the newly-crowned champion Khamzat Chimaev. The main card saw back-to-back knockouts come by spinning elbow as Carlos Prates KO’d Geoff Neal, and the undefeated Lerone Murphy spoiled Aaron Pico’s UFC debut in brutal fashion.

The UFC main card was one of the best of the year, with two spinning back elbow finishes and a dominant performance by new middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev.

Khamzat Chimaev dethroned UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis Saturday night, winning by unanimous decision in dominant fashion at the United Center in Chicago. Chimaev, the 31-year-old Russian,

UFC 319’s main card opener saw ex-Rizin champ Kai Asakura fall to 0-2 in the UFC. His submission defeat to Tim Elliott came after his failed attempt at immediately dethroning champion Alexandre Pantoja last December, marking another example of a new signing perhaps being thrown to the wolves.