UFC 319 loses third bout, Dan Hooker questions Charles Oliveira's decision, Dricus du Plessis reacts to Khamzat Chimaev faceoff: MMA News Roundup

Welcome to today's edition of Sportskeeda MMA News Roundup! UFC 319 has taken another blow after Bryan Battle’s weight miss scrapped a third fight from the card. Dan Hooker questions Charles Oliveira’s quick return against Rafael Fiziev. Meanwhile, Dricus du Plessis claims a psychological edge over Khamzat Chimaev. Let's break them all down:

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UFC 319 loses third fight after Bryan Battle weight miss

The UFC 319 lineup suffered yet another setback as Bryan Battle missed weight for his scheduled middleweight clash with Nursulton Ruziboev. Battle came in at 190 pounds, four pounds over the limit.

The UFC initially announced the fight would continue at catchweight with a fine, but later scrapped the bout altogether. This marks the third cancellation on the card and continues Battle’s troubling pattern of weight misses.

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Dan Hooker questions Charles Oliveira’s quick turnaround

Dan Hooker has cast doubt on Charles Oliveira’s decision to face Rafael Fiziev at UFC Rio this October. Oliveira makes the return three months removed from a vicious knockout loss to Ilia Topuria.

Hooker also pushed back against Oliveira’s claims that he declined a fight in Brazil. Speaking in a recent interview with Sky Sports New Zealand, Hooker said:

"Charlie Olives, you've been lying in my name, my friend. He said I was offered a fight with him October in Brazil, and I turned it down. False accusations. I was never offered. You think that's really how that phone call went? You think in your mind of minds, in your heart of hearts, that I got a phone call from the UFC that said, 'Do you want to fight semi-conscious Charles Oliveira in eight weeks?' And I said, 'Oh no, I'm scared of Charlie Olives' lifeless body floating around the cage.' No, that's not how that went down."

He added:

"I can't even imagine why he's fighting in October. I don't know who watched his last fight against Ilia Topuria, and seen the back of his head bounce off the mat like a basketball and said, 'You know what, I'd like to see him match for a fight in six weeks' time against Rafael Fiziev.' That makes absolutely no sense... Are you serious?"

Check out Dan Hooker's comments below (4:35):

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Dricus du Plessis reacts to final faceoff against Khamzat Chimaev

Dricus du Plessis believes he gained a mental advantage during his final UFC 319 faceoff with Khamzat Chimaev. At the ceremonial weigh-ins, tensions escalated when Chimaev attempted to push the middleweight champion, only for security to intervene.

Du Plessis later dismissed the challenger’s behavior, saying:

“That’s how easy it is to get under that guy’s skin… He reacted like that because he saw a real man in front of him, a real middleweight. He’s going to feel it tomorrow night.”