The UFC's long-awaited return to Chicago finally happened on August 16, as the promotion held UFC 319 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, featuring a highly-hyped main event.

It was the UFC's first venture to the Windy City since 2019, when the promotion held UFC 238 in June of that year. That night saw Henry Cejudo become the third champ-champ in UFC history by defeating Marlon Moraes for the bantamweight title, as well as Valentina Shevchenko's scary knockout of Jessica Eye to retain the women's flyweight title.

The co-main event featured unbeaten featherweight contender Lerone Murphy in action, as he welcomed former Bellator top prospect Aaron Pico to the Octagon.

Who showed up in Chicago? Who missed the mark? Let's find out in this edition of Hits and Misses for UFC 319!

Hit - Alexander Hernandez Does Indeed Do Great

The intention may have been to use Alexander Hernandez as another name for Chase Hooper to put away on his path toward becoming the breakout star some would hope he'd become. "The Great" stopped that in its tracks for now.

Hooper had a notable reach advantage and used that early on. But Hernandez worked his boxing, and his hands ended becoming the difference in this outing. Hernandez landed a right hand just before the horn that dropped Hooper, and he'd put the young star away with seconds remaining in the first round.

Hit - Fighting Nerd Michal Oleksiejczuk Is Different

Sometimes a change of camp really does something to a fighter, and perhaps there's no better example of late than with Michal Oleksiejczuk's move to the Fighting Nerds.

Facing Gerald Meerschaert at UFC 319, Oleksiejczuk consistently stopped Meerschaert's attempts to take the fight to the ground. That would have put the outing in Meerschaert's world, and instead, Oleksiejczuk kept the fight in his and made Meerschaert pay.

Oleksiejczuk scored a pair of knockdowns before blasting Meerschaert away with ground-and-pound until the ref stopped the fight.

This is the second straight first-round finish for Oleksiejczuk, following his first-round finish of Sedriques Dumas at UFC 314. Oleksiejczuk feels like a reborn fighter since moving to the Fighting Nerds, and a third finish in a row his next time out would just put a stamp on that.

Miss - "Baysangur Susurkaev!" & The Silence Of Chicago

My issue is that more credit needs to be given to Eric Nolan -- because Susurkaev left a performance that leaves much to be desired.

Susurkaev tried to pressure Nolan during the opening round, only for Nolan to work his hands and rock Susurkaev in the closing seconds of the round. In fact, had there been more time, Nolan could have gotten a finish. Susurkaev worked over Nolan's legs in the second, and when the former CFFC welterweight champion tried to take the fight to the mat, Susurkaev made him pay and took his back, scoring the submission.

And while it's good to have confidence, Susurkaev went on to say he'd be willing to fight again in a few weeks and tried to lead a chant of his name with the Chicago crowd...it failed spectacularly.

The feat itself is phenomenal, but I need to see more from Susurkaev before I can call him something special.

Hit - Tim Elliott Gives "Age Is Only A Number" A Supporting Argument

Asakura's footwork helped give him an edge early on in the fight, allowing him to connect a number of times on Elliott. While Asakura had the edge for about four minutes, Elliott took him down in the final minute of the first and didn't look back. In the second, he'd score another takedown and worked top position until he was able to score a submission via choke.

Elliott has now won four of his last five, though this marked his first fight since December 2023. Again, it may take a miracle for Elliott to blow up the flyweight rankings and get his way into a title shot. But this win has shown he's a tough competitor who up-and-comers may have to go through just to get into the contender scene.

Hit - MVP: Same Ol' Antics & Fighting Style

Vintage Michael "Venom" Page. That's the best way to describe his victory over Jared Cannonier at UFC 319.

MVP stayed on the outside to start the opening round, nullifying Cannonier's attempts to come inside and landing on Cannonier from range. He taunted throughout the fight, daring Cannonier to try and get him, only to make Cannonier miss and land on him. MVP also knocked Cannonier down a couple of times during the fight. And even when Cannonier got him down in the third, he wasn't able to do much with it and couldn't get the finish, which resulted in a decision win for Page.

After the way he looked against a former middleweight title challenger, and looking at MVP's run in the UFC so far, it would benefit the Bellator veteran more to stay at 185.

Hit - Carlos Prates Makes Chicago Come Unglued...

What else needs to be said? It was one of the best knockouts 2025 has delivered and then some.

While Geoff Neal looked to be aggressive and come out strong, his single-shotted efforts proved to be no match in the long run for the game Carlos Prates was playing. Prates aimed low with kicks and picked up his output over the course of the fight's near five minutes.

And then, right before the horn, WHAM! One of the most vicious elbows ever delivered in this sport, bringing everyone to their feet, jaw-dropped or roaring with cheers.

This is how you rebound following the loss to Ian Machado Garry. This is how you gain yet another Performance of the Night bonus. And this is how you make your mark and say, "I'm right in the middle of this welterweight title picture."

Hit - ...And Then Lerone Murphy Delivers An Encore

Second verse, same as the first, right? A spinning elbow KO is rare enough in the UFC, but then we saw two in a row.

Lerone Murphy pulled off the highlight to give Aaron Pico a rude awakening (or in this case, "sleepening"...I know it's not a word) into the UFC. In something that has been a repeat of some of Pico's other losses in his career, Pico got too careless and aggressive with his striking, and Murphy took advantage. Murphy picked up on Pico's forward pressure motions and used a spinning elbow to drop him out cold in vicious fashion.

Murphy is undefeated, and the only time he didn't win a fight was when he fought to a draw in his UFC debut. "The Miracle" finally, however, got a highlight that stamped a statement for a title shot -- and featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski seemed to be listening, posting "See you in December" after the fight. Perhaps Murphy has now found a way to jump Movsar Evloev for the next crack at the 145-pound title.

Miss - Names From Outside The UFC Aren't Delivering

I was watching a YouTube video in the immediate aftermath of the fight from someone I really respect in the MMA media landscape, James Lynch, talking about whose stock has risen and fallen the most following UFC 319. And he had an interesting take in that, instead of picking Dricus Du Plessis or Aaron Pico, he selected Kai Asakura for the fact he's now 0-2 since coming over from RIZIN and just lost to an elder stateman of the flyweight division.

And the more I think about it, the more he's right. And that combined with the Pico loss, despite some wild takes in the MMA community over the past week, is why I'm putting this "miss" here and combining Asakura, Pico, Patchy Mix, and even Patricio Pitbull.

Of late, these names have all been fighters once prominent in other promotions, who have just not delivered when it comes to their time in the UFC thus far. For Asakura to lose to the defending champ in his debut is one thing, getting finished by Tim Elliott (no disrespect to him whatsoever) is another. People raved about Pico despite his track record, his UFC opponent, and the lack of success of some of his Bellator precedents. Look what happened.

Then there's Patchy Mix, who looked awful in his UFC debut against Mario Bautista a couple of months ago. Patricio Pitbull might be a case of "came over too late," but it's undeniable his 1-1 start in the UFC, and how he's performed in both fights, leaves a lot to be desired. Obviously, there are exceptions (look at Michael Chandler and Michael "Venom" Page), but the recent track sheet of guys coming over to the UFC from other promotions has not been great.

And now Pitbull and Mix are being paired against two other names from other promotions, respectively in former two-division Oktagon champion Losene Keita and former KSW champion Jakub Wiklacz. And the thing is, the UFC has no big loss either way with fighters they bring from other promotions. Win and they can consider you a top name and put promotion behind you. Lose? "Well these other promotions aren't the UFC."

Hit - The Khamzat Chimaev Era Is Here

It's felt inevitable since he arrived in July 2020 hasn't it? Now, Khamzat Chimaev can officially call himself UFC middleweight champion after the way he manhandled Dricus Du Plessis in the UFC 319 main event.

Takedown, takedown, takedown was the strategy. And the belief was that the longer the fight went on, the more it'd favor Du Plessis. There were plenty of questions about Chimaev's gas tank and how he would handle the wild, unorthodox nature of DDP's fighting style.

He answered those questions and then some with an absolutely dominating performance. In fact, the last time a challenger had this much of a one-sided beating of a defending champion for as long as Chimaev did, you'd have to go back to Kamaru Usman beating the breaks off Tyron Woodley to dethrone him of the welterweight title at UFC 235. If were talking title fights in general, then perhaps the beatdown Amanda Nunes put on Felicia Spencer at UFC 250.

So what's next for Chimaev? Despite not fighting more than once a year since 2020, he's being very open about a desire to turn around on short fashion and defend the belt in Abu Dhabi at UFC 321. Is there anyone who seems to be willing to step up and try to match his style and beat him? Reinier de Ridder is raising his hand. But after all this time he's spent on the sidelines with the Jon Jones situation, you can't just move heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall down from the main event, right?...Right?

Miss - A Disappointing Ending To DDP's Run

As someone who has ridden the DDP hype train since 2016, it's crazy that the minute everyone starts to believe in his style, along comes Khamzat Chimaev to end the run in one of the most spectacular fashions.

The man simply had no answers on the mat. He just couldn't figure out how to get away from Chimaev's wrestling. The pressure Chimaev put on was just too much; and it's honestly kind of a shock Chimaev either didn't get the finish or have scorecards that were like 50-43 or 50-42.

And it's a shame. Du Plessis solidified himself as one of the most entertaining fighters at 185 in the UFC. He made a name for himself proving people wrong; and this time he just couldn't. And unfortunately, it means he isn't getting a rematch anytime soon. And you have to wonder what is next for him considering he's beaten Sean Strickland twice, and Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker once.

Perhaps Reinier de Ridder is next if the UFC isn't ready to give RDR the title shot? Or maybe DDP can face Nassourdine Imavov or rematch with Adesanya?

Miss - Chicago Turns On Chimaev

Finally, I have to call this out. It goes beyond Chicago and into the toxicity that is the MMA online community, but Chicago really proved to show the hypocrisy in fans.

If you heard the kind of crowd Chicago was this week, it seemed like a massive W. People were wild and crazy, and it seemed most of the crowd put their support behind Chimaev. They were nuts for him during the pre-fight press conference and the ceremonial weigh-ins.

UFC 319 Press Conference Highlights | ESPN MMA

Then the fight happened. And the longer it went, the more boos rang down. Even when the man got the gold strapped around him, something most in Chicago wanted to happen, the reaction was a lot tamer by comparison.

Look, it wasn't the most entertaining fight and plenty of people are disappointed there wasn't a finish. There is no doubt about it. But you can't take away from the fact it was one of the most dominant performances ever in a UFC title fight -- and that is an accomplishment in its own right.

Georges St. Pierre didn't finish every fight, but he put on excellent, dominating performances. Khabib Nurmagomedov didn't finish every fight, but he put on excellent, dominating performances. Amanda Nunes didn't finish every fight, but he put on excellent, dominating performances.

Criticizing the fight does not mean someone is anti-Chimaev or making disparaging remarks about him and his background, and it doesn't mean that someone is a "casual." It can simply be journalistic or expert commentary. At the same time, if someone is praising the performance of Chimaev, it doesn't mean they are crazy.

How is it that both things can't be true? It wasn't a great fight from the entertainment value perspective, but it did leave a significant moment in its own way.

Maybe the next time UFC hypes up a big main event fight, we as fans and pundits take more of a cautious approach when looking at it.