Fight Week: Du Plessis vs Chimaev tops UFC 319, Itauma faces Whyte, PFL 9 & DWCS

Fight schedule for August 12-16

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UFC 319: Du Plessis vs Chimaev in Chicago on Saturday, August 16, headlines the fight schedule for the third weekend of the month. On the same day, Moses Itauma faces Dillian Whyte in a boxing match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

On Friday, August 15, PFL 9 features the second round of the 2025 tournament finals in Charlotte, NC. The action kicks off on Tuesday, August 12, with Dana White’s Contender Series Season 9: Week 1 in Las Vegas.


Dana White’s Contender Series Season 9: Week 1

  • Date: Tuesday, August 12, Live from UFC Apex in Las Vegas
  • Time: 7:00 PM ET / 4:00 PM PT
  • Platform: ESPN+

The season opener features five matchups with MMA prospects aiming for a UFC contract. Here’s the full fight card:

  • Ilian Bouafia (6-0) vs. Neemias Santana (7-2-1), middleweight
  • Ty Miller (5-0) vs. Jimmy Drago (7-2-0), welterweight
  • Baysangur Susurkaev (8-0) vs. Murtaza Talha (7-1), middleweight
  • George Mangos (7-0) vs. Radley da Silva (7-1), featherweight
  • Christopher Ewert (7-0) vs. Yuri Panferov (8-1), middleweight

How to watch: DWCS Season 9, Week 1 airs live on ESPN+ at 7:00 PM ET / 4:00 PM PT.


2025 PFL World Tournament 9: Finals

  • Date: Friday, August 15, Live from Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, NC
  • Main card: 9:00 PM ET / 6:00 PM PT
  • Prelims: 6:30 PM ET / 3:30 PM PT
  • Platform: ESPN+

PFL 9 features three championship bouts in the lightweight, women’s flyweight, and bantamweight divisions:

  • Alfie Davis (19-5-1) vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov (26-4-2), lightweight
  • Jena Bishop (9-2) vs. Liz Carmouche (24-8), flyweight
  • Marcirley Alves (14-4) vs. Justin Wetzell (12-2), bantamweight

Other bouts:

  • Mads Burnell (20-7) vs. Robert Watley (15-3), lightweight
  • Juliana Velasquez (13-4) vs. Ekaterina Shakalova (9-3), flyweight
  • Biaggio Ali Walsh (2-1) vs. Adryan Grundy (3-1), lightweight
  • Sabrina De Sousa (3-0) vs. Saray Orosco (8-7), flyweight

How to watch: PFL 9 airs live on ESPN+. The main card starts at 9:00 PM ET / 6:00 PM PT, and prelims at 6:30 PM ET / 3:30 PM PT.


Moses Itauma vs Dillian Whyte

  • Date: Saturday, August 16, Live from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • U.S. time: 2:45 PM ET / 9:45 AM PT
  • UK time: 5:45 PM BST
  • Platform: DAZN

The heavyweight bout features 20-year-old rising contender Moses Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs) against 37-year-old former title challenger Dillian Whyte (31-3, 21 KOs). Slovakian-born British Itauma defeated Mike Balogun by TKO in May, while Jamaican-British Whyte is coming off a stoppage victory over Ebenezer Tetteh last December.

On the Itauma vs Whyte undercard, former champion Raymond Ford (17-1-1, 8 KOs) of Camden, NJ meets Puerto Rico’s former title challenger Abraham Nova (24-3-1, 17 KOs) at super featherweight. Also, Nick Ball (22-0-1, 13 KOs) of the UK defends his WBA featherweight title against Sam Goodman (20-0, 8 KOs) of Australia.

Other bouts:

  • Filip Hrgovic (18-1, 14 KOs) vs. David Adeleye (14-1, 13 KOs), heavyweight
  • Hayato Tsutsumi (7-0, 4 KOs) vs. Qais Ashfaq (13-3-1, 5 KOs), super featherweight
  • Mohammed Alakel (4-0) vs. Yumnam Santosh Singh (3-6, 1 KO), super featherweight

How to watch: Itauma vs Whyte airs live on DAZN. The start time is 12:45 PM ET / 9:45 AM PT in the U.S., and 5:45 PM BST in the UK.


UFC 319: Du Plessis vs Chimaev

  • Date: Saturday, August 16, Live from United Center in Chicago, IL
  • Main card: 10:00 PM ET / 7:00 PM PT
  • Prelims: 8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT
  • Early prelims: 6:00 PM ET / 3:00 PM PT
  • Platform: ESPN+

The UFC 319 main event features middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis defending his title against unbeaten No. 3-ranked contender Khamzat Chimaev.

Du Plessis (23-2) of South Africa makes his third title defense after defeating Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya. Chimaev (14-0) makes his first attempt to become champion after submitting Robert Whittaker in the first round last October.

The co-main event is a featherweight bout between Aaron Pico and Lerone Murphy.

Riding a three-fight winning streak, Pico (13-4) of Whittier, CA, makes his UFC debut in his first fight since last February, when he stopped Henry Corrales in the first round at PFL vs Bellator. Unbeaten Murphy (16-0-1) of England is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Josh Emmett in April.

Other bouts:

  • Geoff Neal (16-6) vs. Carlos Prates (21-7), welterweight
  • Jared Cannonier (18-8) vs. Michael Page (23-3), middleweight
  • Tim Elliott (21-13-1) vs. Kai Asakura (21-5), flyweight

How to watch: UFC 319 airs live on ESPN+. The PPV card starts at 10:00 PM ET / 7:00 PM PT. The prelims start at 8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT, following the early prelims at 6:00 PM ET / 3:00 PM PT.


All Elite Wrestling

This week, All Elite Wrestling brings two events to The Andrew J Brady Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio:

  • AEW Dynamite on Wednesday, August 13, featuring Adam Copeland vs. Big Stoke and Jon Moxley vs. Kevin Knight.
  • AEW Collision on Thursday, August 14, featuring a “Technical Spectacle” match between Lee Moriarty, Nigel McGuinness, Hechicero, and Daniel Garcia. The winner will earn a shot at Zack Sabre Jr.’s IWGP title at Forbidden Door.

In addition, check out the full list of upcoming events featured on FIGHTMAG Schedule.

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Parviz Iskenderov
Parviz Iskenderov provides in-depth coverage of the latest news, events, results, and more.

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