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.

In a 3-round featherweight bout on the main card, Lerone Murphy and Aaron Pico meet Saturday at UFC 319 at United Center in Chicago.

During several heated UFC 319 exchanges, Chimaev also announced himself ready to dethrone the UFC middleweight king permanently – “Africa is never going to see the belt again” – and despite his rival’s insistence that he would kill to retain.

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 Dricus Du Plessis championship era was brought to a halt Saturday at UFC 319 courtesy of Khamzat Chimaev. Du Plessis (23-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) was handily beaten by Chimaev (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) in the form of a unanimous decision at United Center in Chicago,

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

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.