UFC Fight Night: du Plessis vs. Usman Preview: Full Fight Card Breakdown
The UFC returns to Oklahoma City for the first time since 2017, and the promotion has the right main event to mark the occasion. Dricus Du Plessis, the former middleweight champion making his first appearance since losing the title at UFC 319, meets Kamaru Usman, who is two fights into his middleweight experiment after spending the previous decade as the best welterweight on the planet. A Fight Night card with that kind of historical weight at the top is worth paying attention to.
Full Fight Card
| Fight | Weight Class | Card Section |
|---|---|---|
| Dricus Du Plessis vs. Kamaru Usman | Middleweight | Main Card |
| Jared Cannonier vs. Christian Leroy Duncan | Middleweight | Main Card |
| Chase Hooper vs. Mitch Ramirez | Lightweight | Main Card |
| Tommy McMillen vs. Alberto Montes | Featherweight | Main Card |
| Fatima Kline vs. Tabatha Ricci | Strawweight | Preliminary Card |
| Austin Bashi vs. Jose Miguel Delgado | Featherweight | Preliminary Card |
| Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani vs. Ko Seok-hyeon | Welterweight | Preliminary Card |
| Felipe Franco vs. Levi Rodrigues | Light Heavyweight | Preliminary Card |
| Stewart Nicoll vs. Alden Coria | Flyweight | Preliminary Card |
| Dione Barbosa vs. Anna Melisano | Flyweight | Preliminary Card |
Main Event: Du Plessis vs. Usman
Du Plessis (23-3) won the UFC Middleweight Championship at UFC 297 with a split decision over Sean Strickland, then defended it twice. Both defenses went through Strickland and Israel Adesanya — the two most prominent names in the division — before Khamzat Chimaev's wrestling took the belt away at UFC 319 last August. The loss to Chimaev was not close. Du Plessis has been away from competition for nearly a year, and this fight is his statement that the title run did not end when the first one did.
Usman (21-4) is a different kind of challenge. The former welterweight champion held that belt through four title defenses at 170 pounds before losing to Leon Edwards. He then dropped three in a row, including a short-notice majority decision loss to Chimaev at 185 pounds in 2023. He rebuilt at welterweight, beating Joaquin Buckley by unanimous decision last June, and now returns to middleweight with the specific objective of proving he can claim a second title in a second weight class.
The strategic question is straightforward: can Usman's wrestling dominate at a weight where he is physically smaller than most of the competition? Against Buckley at welterweight it worked — four takedowns and nearly 13 minutes of control. But Du Plessis at middleweight is a different proposition. Du Plessis is naturally sized for 185, carries his power through five rounds, and poses a finishing threat from multiple positions. His 5.18 significant strikes per minute over his career reflects a volume-pressure style that accumulates damage whether individual shots land clean or not.
The documented weakness for Du Plessis is a 34% career takedown defense rate — the gap Chimaev exploited at UFC 319. If Usman's wrestling retains its effectiveness at middleweight, that number matters. Du Plessis's camp will have spent the time since August specifically addressing it.
Both fighters carry a 76-inch reach. Du Plessis is an inch taller and is the natural middleweight in this matchup. The size argument slightly favors Du Plessis; the wrestling pedigree slightly favors Usman if his output holds at the higher weight class. This is booked as a five-round main event. Whoever controls the grappling for the majority of those rounds will control the scorecards.
Du Plessis opens as a -340 favorite. Usman is listed at +270.
Co-Main Event: Cannonier vs. Duncan
Jared Cannonier (18-9) has been the middleweight you cannot dismiss even when his record dips. He is ranked 11th in the division, has a title challenge on his résumé, and owns stoppage wins over Gregory Rodrigues, Marvin Vettori, and Derek Brunson. Making his first Octagon appearance of 2026, Cannonier needs a win here to defend his spot in the rankings. Christian Leroy Duncan (ranked 13th) is one of the ascending names at 185 pounds, climbing steadily with consistent performances. A win for Duncan puts him into the top-10 conversation immediately.
Notable Fights
Chase Hooper vs. Mitch Ramirez anchors the bottom of the main card at lightweight. Hooper is a finisher who built his name through submission wins and an aggressive grinding style at 155 pounds. The lightweight division on the main card of a Fight Night event is deep enough at this stage of the season that neither fighter reaches this slot without credentials to back it up. This fight tells you something about where Hooper is in his development arc.
Fatima Kline vs. Tabatha Ricci at strawweight in the prelims is worth noting for how it got to the card. Kline was originally booked against Amanda Ribas for the main card, but that fight was cancelled. She dropped to the prelims against Ricci, who stepped in on late notice. Ricci is a former title contender at 115 pounds with the technical wrestling to neutralize most of the division.
Context
This is a Fight Night, not a pay-per-view, but the top two main card bouts are both legitimate ranked middleweight matchups with real divisional implications. Du Plessis getting back in the win column here immediately repositions him in the title picture. Usman winning would be one of the more unexpected storylines of the year at 185 pounds. Cannonier vs. Duncan is a top-15 ranked fight on a night card. The card outperforms most Fight Nights on name value alone.
Streams on Paramount+. Prelims at 5 PM ET, main card at 8 PM ET. Paycom Center, Oklahoma City. July 18.