Dricus Du Plessis returns with dominant decision over Kamaru Usman

Field Level Media|published: Sun 19th July, 01:32 2026

Dricus Du Plessis celebrates after beating Kamaru Usman during UFC Fight Night 281 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Saturday, July 18, 2026.

South Africa's Dricus Du Plessis leaned on his roots in his first fight in nearly a year to secure a unanimous decision victory over Kamaru Usman in the middleweight main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Oklahoma City.

The judges scored the bout 50-45, 49-46, 49-46 in favor of Du Plessis (24-3 MMA), who won his first nine UFC bouts and held the middleweight belt from January 2024 until Aug. 16, 2025. He hadn't fought since that win streak was snapped by Khamzat Chimaev, who remains champion.

"I had to get up," Du Plessis, 32, said following the fight. "There's so many South African kids that look up to me. It's bigger than me, I can't go lie down."

In a fight fought upright with no successful takedowns or submission attempts, Du Plessis didn't appear rusty whatsoever, finishing with a convincing 139-99 edge in total strikes and landed 136 significant strikes to Usman's 92.

Usman (21-5) was the UFC welterweight champion for nearly three years from March 2019 to November 2021. However, the Nigerian, 39, has lost four of his last five fights, and he couldn't add a second straight win with his first fight in 13 months this weekend.

In the middleweight co-main event, England's Christian Leroy Duncan (15-2) defeated Jared Cannonier (18-10 MMA) via unanimous decision. The scorecards read 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28 for Duncan.

Lightweight Chase Hooper (17-5-1) made quick work of Mitch Ramirez (8-4), securing a submission victory via rear-naked choke at the 2:15 mark of the first round.

In strawweight action, Fatima Kline (10-1) secured a unanimous decision victory over Tabatha Ricci (12-5) of Brazil. All three judges scored the bout 30-27 in favor of Kline, who controlled the action for the full 15 minutes.

In the featherweight main-card opener, Tommy McMillen (11-0) delivered a spectacular performance, defeating Venezuela's Alberto Montes (12-2) via TKO at 3:29 of the third round. Utilizing dominant striking throughout the matchup, McMillen proved to be too much for Montes, overwhelming him on the feet to secure the stoppage.

--Field Level Media