Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is just one day away from the upcoming UFC Oklahoma City mixed martial arts (MMA) event, set to go down tomorrow night (Sat., July 18, 2026) on Paramount+ from inside Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, featuring a middleweight main event between former 185-pound champion, Dricus Du Plessis, and ex-welterweight titleholder, Kamaru Usman, a five-round headliner with major title implications for late 2026 and beyond.
Before we dive into the main and co-main
event, which includes the 185-pound slugfest between middleweight maulers Jared Cannonier and Christian Leroy Duncan, check out Andrew Richardson’s “X-Factor” breakdown for the rest of the UFC Oklahoma City main card by clicking here. Get all the latest “Du Plessis vs. Usman” odds and betting props courtesy of FanDuel right here. For UFC Oklahoma City live results and play-by-play click here.
185 lbs.: Dricus Du Plessis vs. Kamaru Usman
Dricus “Stillknocks” Du Plessis
Record: 23-3 | Age: 32 | Betting line: -230
Wins: 9 KO/TKO, 11 SUB, 3 DEC | Losses: 1 KO/TKO, 1 SUB, 1 DEC
Height: 6’1“ | Reach: 76” | Stance: Switch
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 5.18 | Striking accuracy: 48%
Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 4.33 | Striking Defense: 52%
Takedown Average: 2.22 (51% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 34%
Current Ranking: No. 2 | Last fight: Unanimous decision loss to Khamzat Chimaev
Kamaru “Nigerian Nightmare” Usman
Record: 21-4 | Age: 39 | Betting line: +190
Wins: 9 KO/TKO, 1 SUB, 11 DEC | Losses: 1 KO/TKO, 1 SUB, 2 DEC
Height: 6’0“ | Reach: 76” | Stance: Switch
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 4.16 | Striking accuracy: 51%
Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 2.67 | Striking Defense: 55%
Takedown Average: 2.79 (44% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 89%
Current Ranking: No. 10 (welterweight) | Last fight: Unanimous decision victory over Joaquin Buckley
Dricus Du Plessis makes his first appearance in nearly a year, an attempt to rebound from his disastrous showing against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 in Chicago. I think the loss shook Du Plessis as much as it did fans because we’ve never seen “Stillknocks” look so utterly helpless. The South African slugger has certainly had his share of close fights but Chimaev made him look like some chump they pulled out of the fourth row roughly 10 minutes before the event. That raises a fair amount of concern for his comeback fight against Kamaru Usman, who does not have the size of a middleweight but compensates with his championship experience and top-shelf wrestling attack.
“So, I think he’s going to try to wrestle with us — I don’t think he’s got the balls to stand up with Dricus,”coach Morne Visser told Fight Forecast. “We all saw what Dricus did to Khamzat. He clipped him I think two or three times and he almost took his head off. He just wanted to be on the floor and held on to Dricus. Never even one submission attempt.”
Usman fell in love with his hands in recent years which is understandable considering his striking coach is Trevor Wittman, leading to knockout wins over Gilbert Burns, Jorge Masvidal, and Colby Covington. Getting back to his wresting roots helped propel Usman to a commanding decision against Joaquin Buckley at UFC Atlanta, a fight where “New Mansa” struggled to get off the canvas like a newborn calf. While it was an impressive performance, it was also back in June 2025; which isn’t ancient history by any means — unless you’re a 14-year MMA veteran who is 39 years old.
“It has been a running joke about knees,” Usman told CBS Sports. “I have had even worse injuries than that. It is what it is. Let them keep joking. I just have to go in there and prove them wrong every time. As a welterweight, when you have to cut the weight and really diet to go through that process of getting down, you build a way to sustain that energy and how to be efficient in the fight. I think when I went in there in that middleweight bout with Khamzat Chimaev, I was still kind of trying to operate on that type of efficiency. Next thing you know, it’s two and a half rounds in and it feels like Round 1 to me. I should’ve taken five [rounds]. I should’ve really given myself the time. I think it’s just having that extra reserve of not having to deplete yourself so much. It was great for me and I’m interested to see how that plays a factor here when I’m going against a big, strong, heavy guy that fights hard all of the 25 minutes.”
Usman over-performed against Chimaev in a short-notice bout at UFC 294 back in late 2023 and I think too many people are using that as a base for Usman’s middleweight capabilities. The counter to that is Chimaev also struggled against Gilbert Burns at UFC 273, so it probably had more to do with the adjustments (or lack thereof) from “Borz.” The inability to stop the takedown — as well as Du Plessis’ complete helplessness on the ground — has kept the betting line from ballooning out of control. That said, Usman is not Chimaev when it comes to top control and Du Plessis has a considerable size advantage. “Stillknocks” is also seven years younger and fighting in his athletic prime, so it’s hard for me to envision a scenario where he doesn’t run away with this fight in the second half of the contest.
Prediction: Du Plessis def. Usman by unanimous decision
185 lbs.: Jared Cannonier vs. Christian Leroy Duncan
Jared “Killa Gorilla” Cannonier
Record: 18-9 | Age: 42 | Betting line: +285
Wins: 11 KO/TKO, 2 SUB, 5 DEC | Losses: 3 KO/TKO, 0 SUB, 6 DEC
Height: 5’11“ | Reach: 77” | Stance: Switch
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 4.42 | Striking accuracy: 49%
Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 4.35 | Striking Defense: 56%
Takedown Average: 0.54 (40% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 64%
Current Ranking: No. 11 | Last fight: Unanimous decision loss to Michael Page
Christian Leroy Duncan
Record: 14-2 | Age: 30 | Betting line: -360
Wins: 10 KO/TKO, 1 SUB, 3 DEC | Losses: 0 KO/TKO, 0 SUB, 2 DEC
Height: 6’2“ | Reach: 79” | Stance: Switch
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 4.43 | Striking accuracy: 57%
Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 2.59 | Striking Defense: 52%
Takedown Average: 0.33 (16% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 63%
Current Ranking: No. 12 | Last fight: Unanimous decision victory over Roman Dolidze
Jared Cannonier is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Michael Page at UFC 319 just about a year ago and it marks the third time in his last four fights where “The Killa Gorilla” was easily outstruck. His lone win during that span came over Gregory Rodrigues at UFC Vegas 102 but if you take away “Robocop’s” sledgehammer power, he’s not a super technical striker. It’s also worth noting that Cannonier turned 42 back in March and is clearly in decline; though he remains dangerous on the feet and still poses a threat with his wrestling. To wit, Cannonier scored four takedowns in his “Fight of the Night” opposite Marvin Vettori back in June 2023 and rattled off another two against Page. Much has been made about Cannonier’s power and it’s still a threat, though he’s only scored one knockout over the last four years and has only two finishes since late 2019.
“I want to win all three rounds,” Cannonier told Cageside Press. “I guess you can say this is my redemption fight against the UK. We always want to win every fight. I’m not making any association between this and the last. Any associations that I do make is because I’m game-planning to overcome. Eleven years later, things are quite different. We’ve seen a lot of guys come and go, and I think there’s going to be more to come. The sport is still young, there’s still more to be discovered. More Conor McGregors if you will.”
UFC discovered Christian Leroy Duncan back in early 2023 and things really started to take off over the last year or so, where the hard-hitting Englishman racked up four straight wins with a couple of highlight-reel knockouts, worthy of two post-fight performance bonuses. At 30 years old he’s currently in his fighting prime and performs as such, turning away Roman Dolidze at UFC London despite getting taken down three times in their three-round affair. Dolidze was clearly weary of Duncan’s power, getting outstruck by a considerable margin. The only knock thus far on Duncan’s career is that he hasn’t fought anyone with the name or experience of Cannonier — and a UFC 304 loss to Gregory Rodrigues sticks out like a sore thumb.
“I progress in the UFC and my opponents have risen,” Duncan told Cageside Press. “This will be my most experienced fighter I’ve fought. A guy that’s fought for the title and fought some of the best in the division. I look forward to putting off a good performance against him as he deserves as such a respectable fighter here in the UFC. We done a lot of studying on Jared Cannonier, there’s a lot of film on him, and how he’s kind of adjusted and changed and both grown from being a heavyweight down to middleweight. That fight with MVP was an interesting one for sure. Yeah you say his age 42, but not many 42-year-olds look like Jared Cannonier. He’s well-experienced and over the years he’s kind of refined the way that he fights. It hasn’t changed much, but he’s very good at what he does. I’ve treated him that way. I approach preparing for this fight as if I’m fighting the best version of Jared.”
Cannonier can never be counted out. Despite his age and deteriorating skill set, he remains a physical specimen capable of strong takedowns and one-punch knockouts. I think the wrestling is going to be the X-factor for this fight because Duncan is the taller fighter with a longer reach. I know all the cool kids are taking Duncan because he’s the shiny new toy at middleweight, but I think Cannonier pulls off one last surprise on fight night.
Prediction: Cannonier def. Duncan by unanimous decision
Don’t forget to check out the rest of the UFC Oklahoma City main card predictions RIGHT HERE.
