Former UFC flyweight title challengers Tim Elliott and Kai Asakura will meet within the octagon when UFC returns to Chicago on Aug 16, each athletes introduced on social media.
UFC 319 will happen on the United Heart and have 185-pound champion Dricus Du Plessis defending his middleweight belt in the principle occasion in opposition to undefeated drive Khamzat Chimaev.
Eliott (23-13-1) might be coming back from a 20-month layoff when he faces Asakura. The Final Fighter season 24 winner gained his final bout in December 2023, when he tapped out Sumudaerji in Las Vegas.
The 38-year-old veteran, who challenged Demetrious Johnson for UFC gold after successful TUF in 2016, was victorious in 5 of his previous seven octagon appearances with a 9/11 octagon document with each UFC stints mixed.
Asakura (21-5) got here up brief in his promotional debut in December 2024, now seeking to rebound from a second-round submission defeat to reigning 125-pound champion Alexandre Pantoja.
The Japanese star went over to the UFC as a two-time RIZIN bantamweight titleholder, having beat the likes of Kyoji Horiguchi, Manel Kape and Juan Archuleta throughout a 13-3 profession in RIZIN between 2017 and 2023.
