UFC Oklahoma City went down last Saturday night (July 18, 2026) inside Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., leaving several fighters feeling the post-fight blues.
Among them was Mitch Ramirez, who was choked out by Chase Hooper early in the very first round (see it again here). And Alberto Montes, who was knocked out by Tommy McMillen in the third and final round (highlights). But which fighter is feeling the worst post-fight hangover, now a few days removed from the show?
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Kamaru Usman.
Coming into his headlining bout against former Middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis, Usman was riding high on confidence after getting back on track with a win over Joaquin Buckley over a year ago. That victory snapped “The Nigerian Nightmare’s” three-fight losing streak, giving the former Welterweight champion some much-needed confidence.
Despite getting a much-needed win at 170 pounds, Usman opted to move back up to Middleweight to take on a former world champion hungry to get back into the win column himself, a move that proved to be questionable after he was dominated for the majority of the 25-minute fight against a much bigger and stronger man.
And that was pretty much the story of the fight, du Plessis having his way with a man he had a size, reach and weight advantage over. Once he started tagging “The Nigerian Nightmare” his confidence only grew, which wasn’t good for Usman, who was rocked on several occasions. To his credit, Usman showed just how tough and durable he is, absorbing the shots and refusing to give in.
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In the end, the judges had no issue scoring the fight, giving du Plessis a unanimous decision win, dropping Usmam to 0-2 at 185 pounds with his other loss coming against Khamzat Chimaev. After the defeat, he wouldn’t commit to what division he’d fight at next but assured everyone that he isn’t done just yet.
“We’ll see where there’s next opportunities at,” Usman said during the post-fight presser (via MMA Fighting). “Listen, opportunities always come up, like taking on Khazmat Chimaev on eight, seven days’ notice, whatever that was — opportunity came up. Masvidal on six days’ notice —opportunity came up. And there’s been a couple of little ones that didn’t necessarily materialize that I’ve kind of almost jumped in line for. So, opportunities always come up, and look, Michael Bisping was middleweight champion of the world. Let’s not forget that opportunity came up, he jumped on it, he was a middleweight champion.”
With Usman refusing to commit to a weight class, it’s hard to predict what could be next for him. Since he’s 0-2 as a Middleweight, dropping back down to Welterweight seems like the best option after taking time to recharge and going back to basics.
If that’s the road he decides to take, I wouldn’t mind seeing him face off against someone like Kevin Holland. Sure, it may seem like an odd matchup at first glance, but Usman will likely lose a few spots and get out of the Top 10. Everyone from No. 11 to No. 15 at 170 pounds is either currently booked or on a win streak, so anyone of them are out of the question.
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As for Holland, he was last seen defeating Randy Brown at UFC 327, snapping his two-fight skid. He was set to return against Jacobe Smith this past weekend before he bowed out with an injury. Once he’s ready to return, I think he’d be more than willing to take the Usman fight if offered.
Thoughts?
For more UFC Oklahoma results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.
