Recap · UFC

UFC Oklahoma City: Du Plessis Grinds Out Usman, Underdogs Run Wild on the Prelims

By Dez Okafor — Dez spent six years working regional MMA shows, cageside, scoring every round in a notebook nobody asked for. He bets fights the way he judged them: styles, pace, and finishing rate over name value. Cards are won in the matchups nobody watches.

Sun, Jul 19, 2026, 6:49 AM ET

Can a fighter jump two weight classes and hang with a champion? Kamaru Usman gave it a shot, but Dricus Du Plessis proved that styles make fights, and the middleweight champion's style was too much over five rounds at UFC Fight Night in Oklahoma City.

The main event saw Du Plessis take a unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46) over Usman, who moved up from welterweight to challenge for the 185-pound belt. The method tells the story: a five-round grinder that went the distance, with Du Plessis controlling the pace and volume. Du Plessis closed as roughly a -205 favorite, with some books stretching as far as -260 by fight time, and the champion's durability and pressure justified the price. Usman, a former welterweight king, couldn't find the finishing moment against a man who keeps turning back top contenders.

The undercard delivered the night's most explosive moments. Chase Hooper needed just 2:15 of the first round to submit Mitch Ramirez by rear-naked choke, closing around -375. RJ Harris was even quicker, knocking out Alvin Hines at 1:40 of round one — and he did it as a slight underdog, closing around +100 with Hines favored at -120. Dione Barbosa also made short work of Anna Melisano, locking up a first-round rear-naked choke at 4:04 as a -625 favorite.

The main card favorites held serve. Christian Leroy Duncan closed around -395 and cruised to a decision over Jared Cannonier. Fatima Kline, in the -470 range, took a clean sweep of the scorecards over Tabatha Ricci. Tommy McMillen (-175) provided the card's other late finish, stopping Alberto Montes by TKO at 3:29 of round three. On the prelims, Alden Coria was the steepest price on the card at roughly -1050 and won on the scorecards over Stewart Nicoll.

But the real story of the prelims was the underdogs. Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani upset Seokhyeon Ko on the scorecards as a +154 dog. Felipe Franco (+124) stopped Levi Rodrigues Jr. by TKO at 1:40 of round two. Jose Delgado (+105) outpointed Austin Bashi, and Ezra Elliott (+105) took a decision from Damien Anderson. That's five underdog winners on one card counting Harris.

Names sell tickets, but the method tells the story. Du Plessis remains the man at 185, the prelim dogs made bettors sweat, and the early stoppages gave the Paycom Center crowd plenty to cheer about.

Du Plessis answered the question in decisive fashion, and the quick finishes on the undercard reminded everyone why the Octagon delivers unpredictability even when the betting lines don't.