UFC Oklahoma City went down on July 18 at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, featuring a middleweight main event between former champ Dricus Du Plessis and former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. Du Plessis scored the victory in a clear unanimous decision win.
Du Plessis used his striking to tag Usman consistently over the course of 25 minutes, neutralizing his wrestling attempts and doing damage en route to nearly sweeping the scorecards.
Du Plessis vs. Usman result
Middleweight: Dricus Du Plessis def. Kamaru Usman via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46 x2) — Du Plessis used knees to prevent Usman’s takedown attempts, and he troubled Usman with a number of uppercuts and overhand rights that landed. Du Plessis continued to tag Usman in the second round, even scoring an immediate reversal after getting taken down.
Though Du Plessis appeared to be breathing heavy, he continued to control the action. Usman tried to pick things up in the third, but DDP continued to tag Usman upstairs, continuing to swell his face. Du Plessis continued to find the mark in the fourth, landing a high kick and right hands that stunned Usman. Usman got a late-round rally, rocking DDP with a one-two.
Usman tried to rally more in the fifth, but it was too little, too late.
Co-main and main card results
Middleweight: Christian Leroy Duncan def. Jared Cannonier via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28) — Cannonier looked to pressure CLD with his grappling, attempting to pin him against the fence multiple times. But Leroy Duncan was not deterred and landed damaging strikes over the course of 15 minutes, earning himself a clear decision victory — and potentially a top-10 spot in the middleweight rankings.
Lightweight: Chase Hooper def. Mitch Ramirez via submission (rear-naked choke) (Rd. 1, 2:15) — Hooper got the fight to the ground quickly, and Ramirez had no answer, getting choked out in just over two minutes. It was a dominant performance by Hooper despite the weight miss.
Women’s Strawweight: Fatima Kline def. Tabatha Ricci via unanimous decision (30-27 x3) — Despite what most expected, it was Kline who dictated the fight on the ground, scoring takedowns and controlling the action. After Kline got to Ricci’s back at the end of round two, she continued to have the grappling edge in the third, including the landing of a solid suplex, to score a clear decision victory.
Featherweight: Tommy McMillen def. Alberto Montes via TKO (Rd. 3, 3:29) — After McMillen and Montes needed to be separated before the fight, the two came out firing from the get-go, with both rocking the other during the opening round. Montes stayed in the fight for a while, but McMillen’s pressure was unrelenting, eventually finishing Montes against the fence in the third. McMillen set a new UFC record for most significant strikes landed in a featherweight fight.
Prelim results
Featherweight: Jose Miguel Delgado def. Austin Bashi via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2) — Delgado landed a couple of strong knees during the fight, rocking Bashi each time. Bashi looked to use his wrestling during the second half of the fight, but Delgado’s striking, which busted up Bashi’s face, proved to be too much.
Welterweight: Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani def. Seok-hyeon Ko via unanimous decision (29-28 x3) — Ko looked to bring pressure to Lebosnoyani, but Lebosnoyani’s grappling control, combined with precise striking, helped him to a decision win.
Light Heavyweight: Felipe Franco def. Levi Rodrigues Jr. via TKO (Rd. 2, 1:40) — Both men fired off powerful shots, with Rodrigues rocking Franco with a series of right hands in the first. But Franco mixed in his power with takedowns, troubling Rodrigues with a series of powerful shots from up top until the referee stepped in.
Featherweight: Ezra Elliott def. Damien Anderson via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2) — Grappling was the name of the game for Elliott, who used his takedowns and control time, as well as submission attempts, to win on the scorecards.
Flyweight: Aldin Coria def. Stewart Nicoll via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28) — Coria’s striking was on full display as he outworked Stewart Nicoll. While Nicoll scored takedown attempts and looked for submissions, Coria neutralized enough of Nicoll’s game to get the nod from the judges.
Heavyweight: RJ Harris def. Alvin Hines via TKO (Rd. 1, 1:40) — Harris dropped Hines with a devastating uppercut, landing a few follow-up shots to score a quick TKO win.
Women’s Flyweight: Dione Barbosa def. Anna Melisano via submission (rear-naked choke) (Rd. 1, 4:04) — Barbosa’s grappling was on full display, dominating Melisano on the ground before scoring a standing rear-naked choke for the victory.
What’s next
Du Plessis hopes that this performance earns him another opportunity to re-capture the UFC middleweight title. As of tonight, there is no word on when champion Sean Strickland, who DDP has beaten twice before, will defend the title.
