{"id":808033,"date":"2026-07-17T14:51:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T14:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/808033\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T14:51:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T14:51:11","slug":"ufc-oklahoma-city-preview-du-plessis-vs-usman-main-co-main-event-predictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/808033\/","title":{"rendered":"UFC Oklahoma City preview: \u2018Du Plessis vs. Usman\u2019 main, co-main event predictions"},"content":{"rendered":"

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+<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s \u201cX-Factor\u201d breakdown for the rest of the UFC Oklahoma City main card by clicking here<\/a>. Get all the latest \u201cDu Plessis vs. Usman\u201d odds and betting props courtesy of FanDuel right here<\/a>. For UFC Oklahoma City live results and play-by-play click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

185 lbs.: Dricus Du Plessis vs. Kamaru Usman<\/p>\n

Dricus \u201cStillknocks\u201d 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\u20191\u201c | Reach: 76\u201d | 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<\/p>\n

Kamaru \u201cNigerian Nightmare\u201d 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\u20190\u201c | Reach: 76\u201d | 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<\/p>\n

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\u2019ve never seen \u201cStillknocks\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, I think he\u2019s going to try to wrestle with us \u2014 I don\u2019t think he\u2019s got the balls to stand up with Dricus,\u201dcoach Morne Visser told Fight Forecast<\/a>. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 \u201cNew Mansa\u201d 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\u2019t ancient history by any means \u2014 unless you\u2019re a 14-year MMA veteran who is 39 years old.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a running joke about knees,\u201d Usman told CBS Sports<\/a>. \u201cI 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\u2019s two and a half rounds in and it feels like Round 1 to me. I should\u2019ve taken five [rounds]. I should\u2019ve really given myself the time. I think it\u2019s just having that extra reserve of not having to deplete yourself so much. It was great for me and I\u2019m interested to see how that plays a factor here when I\u2019m going against a big, strong, heavy guy that fights hard all of the 25 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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 \u201cBorz.\u201d The inability to stop the takedown \u2014 as well as Du Plessis\u2019 complete helplessness on the ground \u2014 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. \u201cStillknocks\u201d is also seven years younger and fighting in his athletic prime, so it\u2019s hard for me to envision a scenario where he doesn\u2019t run away with this fight in the second half of the contest.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Du Plessis def. Usman by unanimous decision<\/p>\n

185 lbs.: Jared Cannonier vs. Christian Leroy Duncan<\/p>\n

Jared \u201cKilla Gorilla\u201d 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\u201911\u201c | Reach: 77\u201d | 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<\/p>\n

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\u20192\u201c | Reach: 79\u201d | 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<\/p>\n

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 \u201cThe Killa Gorilla\u201d was easily outstruck. His lone win during that span came over Gregory Rodrigues at UFC Vegas 102 but if you take away \u201cRobocop\u2019s\u201d sledgehammer power, he\u2019s not a super technical striker. It\u2019s 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 \u201cFight of the Night\u201d opposite Marvin Vettori back in June 2023 and rattled off another two against Page. Much has been made about Cannonier\u2019s power and it\u2019s still a threat, though he\u2019s only scored one knockout over the last four years and has only two finishes since late 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to win all three rounds,\u201d Cannonier told Cageside Press<\/a>. \u201cI guess you can say this is my redemption fight against the UK. We always want to win every fight. I\u2019m not making any association between this and the last. Any associations that I do make is because I\u2019m game-planning to overcome. Eleven years later, things are quite different. We\u2019ve seen a lot of guys come and go, and I think there\u2019s going to be more to come. The sport is still young, there\u2019s still more to be discovered. More Conor McGregors if you will.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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\u2019s power, getting outstruck by a considerable margin. The only knock thus far on Duncan\u2019s career is that he hasn\u2019t fought anyone with the name or experience of Cannonier \u2014 and a UFC 304 loss to Gregory Rodrigues sticks out like a sore thumb.<\/p>\n

\u201cI progress in the UFC and my opponents have risen,\u201d Duncan told Cageside Press<\/a>. \u201cThis will be my most experienced fighter I\u2019ve fought. A guy that\u2019s 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\u2019s a lot of film on him, and how he\u2019s 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\u2019s well-experienced and over the years he\u2019s kind of refined the way that he fights. It hasn\u2019t changed much, but he\u2019s very good at what he does. I\u2019ve treated him that way. I approach preparing for this fight as if I\u2019m fighting the best version of Jared.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s the shiny new toy at middleweight, but I think Cannonier pulls off one last surprise on fight night.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Cannonier def. Duncan by unanimous decision<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget to check out the rest of the UFC Oklahoma City main card predictions RIGHT HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is just one day away from the upcoming UFC Oklahoma City mixed martial arts…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":808034,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[49,48,641,33601,638,82,139445,702,17055,8729,4454],"class_list":["post-808033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-fighting","tag-latest-ufc-mma-news","tag-mma","tag-sports","tag-ufc-on-paramount","tag-ufc-news","tag-ufc-predictions","tag-ufc-previews","tag-upcoming-ufc-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=808033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/808034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=808033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=808033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=808033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}