Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis, returns to action this weekend (Sat., July 18, 2026) against former Welterweight kingpin, Kamaru Usman, in UFC Oklahoma City’s main event from inside Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Du Plessis will compete for the first time since losing his Middleweight title to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 last year. It was not exactly a thriller, but it was dominant, as Chimaev used his wrestling to shut down Du Plessis and
end one of the best runs in the division.
Before that loss, Du Plessis had not tasted defeat in eight years, dating all the way back to his knockout loss against Roberto Soldic.
During that stretch, Du Plessis went on an incredible run, stormed into UFC, beat former champion after former champion, and eventually captured the Middleweight title.
Then Chimaev took it away.
After 11 months on the sidelines, Du Plessis is ready to get back to work because, well, losing sucks.
“Yeah, so I haven’t lost in quite some time — eight years — and I kind of forgot how it felt,” Du Plessis told UFC.com this week. “Now, I know exactly why. I absolutely hate it. I hate losing, I hate not being a champion. I’m a guy that’s the best in the world — I deserve a title. I have to have that title. When I lost it, it made me realize why I wanted to become champion in the first place and why I will do it again.”
The former champion admitted the loss stuck with him for a while, which he believes is exactly how it should be.
“Dealing with that loss, it stung for quite a while,” Du Plessis said. “It stung for a month after that fight. And if it didn’t sting like that, it would have been a problem — it means I didn’t appreciate it. It means the loss doesn’t bother me that much. I’m a terrible loser, and I’ll prove that on Saturday.”
Du Plessis is still ranked No. 2 at Middleweight, meaning he could have been matched with several top contenders in his return.
But when UFC offered Usman, the matchup made sense for one very specific reason: wrestling.
Chimaev used that exact department to take the title from Du Plessis. Now, the South African wants to prove that the loss was not the start of a major hole in his game.
“When I heard the name Usman, I was firstly excited because this brings a wrestler, which is where I want to prove I’m the best in the world,” Du Plessis said. “What does it prove to go and beat another world-class striker? I’ve beaten the best — I beat Sean Strickland twice, I beat Israel Adesanya. I wanted to prove myself against a world-class wrestler in this fight.”
Usman may be older, undersized and moving up from Welterweight, but he is still one of the better wrestlers to ever compete in UFC.
And for Du Plessis, that is exactly the point.
If “Stillknocks” wants to get back to the title, he has to show that Chimaev did not expose a blueprint.
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