The UFC rolls into Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma this weekend for UFC Fight Night: Du Plessis vs. Usman on Saturday, July 18, 2026. Here is everything you need heading into fight night.
Main Event Preview: Dricus Du Plessis vs. Kamaru Usman
Dricus du Plessis isn’t coming to Oklahoma City with something to prove — he’s coming to prove he’s still who we thought he was. The South African’s loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 last August was his first UFC defeat in ten fights, and it stung because it looked like exactly what his critics always suspected: that “Stillknocks’” forward-pressure, herky-jerky style had a ceiling. Chimaev found it with relentless wrestling and smother-pace grappling. But du Plessis took the L, kept his mouth shut, and came back. Now he gets a chance to re-establish himself against one of the most decorated fighters this sport has ever produced.
The problem is that Kamaru Usman isn’t a soft redemption arc opponent. This is a former pound-for-pound number one, a five-time welterweight champion who held that belt longer than most people thought humanly possible. His last fight — a June 2025 decision win over Joaquin Buckley at 170 — showed he’s still elite when the conditions are right. But middleweight is a different conversation. Usman has fought at 185 exactly once, a short-notice slot against Chimaev at UFC 294 in 2023 that he lost by majority decision. His stated goal is to retire as a two-division champion. That’s an ambitious ask from a guy who’s now 38, moving up to a weight class where he’s 0-1, to face a man who was the champion there just eleven months ago.
What does du Plessis need to do to win? Be relentlessly physical, keep the pace suffocating, and drag Usman somewhere dark by round three. DDP doesn’t outbox people — he out-wills them. He caught Israel Adesanya with a face crank in round four of a fight that looked like it was going to be a kickboxing clinic. That tells you everything about his game: the longer it goes, the more dangerous he becomes. Against Usman specifically, he needs to be disciplined about not walking into the jab and getting flattened against the fence. Usman’s clinch control is still elite even at this stage of his career.
Usman’s path to victory runs through tempo manipulation. He needs to slow this fight down, use the jab to maintain distance, and force du Plessis to think instead of just react. DDP hates clean counters — he walks into them with enough regularity that it’s a pattern, not an accident. Usman’s footwork and head movement are genuinely underrated, and his wrestling foundation means du Plessis can’t just grab him and drag him down without risk. But the market is seeing this clearly at -340/-350: du Plessis is the physically fresher, more naturally sized middleweight, and Usman is gambling that elite skills translate across divisions at 38. It might work. The odds say probably not.
Full Fight Card Breakdown
- MAIN CARD
- Dricus Du Plessis (23-3) vs. Kamaru Usman (21-4) — Middleweight — Former champion vs. former pound-for-pound number one. Du Plessis is coming off his first UFC loss (to Chimaev), Usman is moving up from 170 chasing a two-division title. See the full breakdown above.
- Jared Cannonier (18-9) vs. Christian Leroy Duncan (14-2) — Middleweight — “Killa Gorilla” Cannonier is one of the hardest hitters to ever compete at 185, but he’s gone 2-3 over his last five and needs a statement win. Duncan has back-to-back Performance of the Night bonuses with spinning-technique knockouts and has the reach and power to make this very dangerous very fast.
- Chase Hooper vs. Mitch Ramirez — Lightweight — Hooper “The Dream” has been dropped by KO in his last two outings — against Alexander Hernandez and Lance Gibson Jr. — which is a hard run after a legitimate five-fight winning streak. Ramirez is 0-3 in the UFC and looking for his first octagon win. Hooper needs this one badly, and the matchmaking reflects that.
- Tommy McMillen vs. Alberto Montes — Featherweight — Two prospects battling for traction at 145. McMillen has been active and looking for a scalp to build momentum; Montes is a finisher who doesn’t tend to let fights go to the cards if he can help it. One to watch early on the main card.
- PRELIMINARY CARD
- Tabatha Ricci (12-4) vs. Fatima Kline (9-1) — Women’s Strawweight — Kline is the hottest name at 115 that casual fans haven’t fully caught onto yet. She knocked out Melissa Martinez, Viktoriia Dudakova, then went the distance to beat Angela Hill — three very different opponents, handled cleanly. Ricci has the grappling to complicate that at 5’1″, but she’s 1-2 over her last three, including a loss to Jandiroba in April.
- Austin Bashi vs. Jose Miguel Delgado — Featherweight — Developing fighters trying to build UFC records. One to monitor if you’re tracking the lower end of the 145 division for future breakout candidates.
- Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani vs. Seokhyeon Ko — Welterweight — Another prelim bout between two fighters still finding their footing at UFC level. Both will be looking for a finish to make an impression.
- Levi Rodrigues Jr. vs. Felipe Franco — Light Heavyweight — 205-pound prelim action. Light heavyweight is always worth watching for stoppages, and both men carry finishing ability.
- Alden Coria vs. Stewart Nicoll — Flyweight — Keep an eye here for a potential surprise of the night. Flyweight prelims are often where the undercard’s best fight hides.
- RJ Harris (5-0) vs. Alvin Hines — Heavyweight — Harris is a late replacement for Allen Frye Jr. and comes in undefeated with four finishes, three of them by submission. An unbeaten heavyweight who submits people is always worth a watch — it’s a rare combination at 265.
- Anna Melisano vs. Dione Barbosa — Women’s Flyweight — Melisano steps in on late notice for Veronica Hardy and brings a five-fight win streak with three finishes. Short-notice callups with winning momentum are usually worth watching — they tend to fight loose.
Note: Kevin Holland vs. Jacobe Smith was removed from the card after Holland suffered a training injury. The UFC confirmed no replacement is being sought for that bout.
Odds Breakdown
Want the actual picks for this card? Our full selections are posted at BetMMA.tips/DelinquentMMA ahead of every event.
Dricus du Plessis opened as a -340 favorite on DraftKings with Usman at +270, and those lines have been remarkably stable since the fight was announced — sitting at -340/-350 for DDP and +270/+285 for Usman depending on the book. That kind of pricing reflects a market consensus that the size differential is real, Usman’s track record at middleweight is thin (0-1 on short notice), and du Plessis, even as a man coming off a loss, is the more appropriate middleweight in this fight. A -340 line isn’t “bet and forget” territory, but it tells you that sharp money isn’t finding much value on Usman at this number either.
The co-main event has some genuinely interesting pricing. Fatima Kline opened as a -255 favorite over Tabatha Ricci (+210) at strawweight. That’s a meaningful number on a 9-1 fighter who’s still building her profile, and it speaks to how consistently impressive Kline has looked during her recent run. Ricci’s grappling-heavy style can make things difficult for strikers, but she’s been on a rough stretch and the market isn’t showing much faith in a bounce-back.
Beyond the main event, the card lines carry the usual mix of prohibitive favorites in the heavyweight bout and tighter lines in the prelims where less tape exists. For the full breakdown of where we think the value is this weekend, head to BetMMA.tips/DelinquentMMA.
Odds information is for entertainment purposes only. Bet responsibly and check local laws before wagering.
Fighter Spotlight: Christian Leroy Duncan
Christian Leroy Duncan doesn’t fight like anyone else at 185 pounds right now. The British prospect — “CLD” to the people who’ve been watching — has won back-to-back Performance of the Night bonuses with the kind of techniques that make you rewind the clip twice: a spinning back elbow into ground-and-pound to finish Eryk Anders in the first round in August 2025, then a spinning backfist that sent Marco Tulio crumpling in round two three months later. Two fights. Two PON bonuses. Two spinning-technique stoppages. You don’t manufacture that on a gameplan — it comes from someone who’s genuinely absorbed the full spectrum of striking arts and can access it under pressure.
What separates Duncan from the category of “highlight reel guy who fades under real pressure” is that he can genuinely grapple when he has to, and at 6’2″ with a 79-inch reach, he’s a structural nightmare for middleweights who want to close the distance and get physical. His two UFC losses — both to fighters who shut down his offense with forward pressure (Armen Petrosyan and Gregory Rodrigues, both by decision) — show where the ceiling is if he doesn’t manage range. That’s the blueprint. It’s just hard to execute against someone who can throw spinning back elbows from angles most middleweights can’t even threaten from.
Saturday, he faces Jared Cannonier — a 38-year-old veteran who’s one of maybe five people in the history of 185 pounds who can claim genuine one-punch KO power. Cannonier dropped Anderson Silva with a body kick and follow-up shots. He annihilated David Branch in round two. He hits hard enough that Duncan has to respect the right hand from the jump. If Cannonier catches him clean, this fight ends badly and fast. But if Duncan can use the reach, stay disciplined, and put together the kind of controlled, distance-managed performance that his style is capable of when everything clicks? He makes a real statement in the middleweight division — and puts himself in contention for a top-ten name next.
Final Thoughts
Drop your thoughts in the comments — who are you most excited to watch this weekend? For our full card picks, head to BetMMA.tips/DelinquentMMA.
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