In the battle of former champions, Dricus Du Plessis beat Kamaru Usman after five eventful rounds via unanimous decision at UFC Oklahoma City. The South African fighter was on point with his striking and takedown defense and was able to stagger Usman many times with headkicks.
Du Plessis returned for the first time since losing the middleweight title last year against Khamzat Chimaev. Usman went up to middleweight to challenge himself against one of the top fighters in the division. A win for Usman would’ve put him at the top of the middleweight division right away.
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A Battle Between Former Champions
Usman and Du Plessis both kept it standing early on. Both guys were landing, but Usman had problems with Du Plessis’s punch behind the ear. Three times the South African landed that punch in the first round. Besides that, Du Plessis landed more, but nothing significant. Early on in the second round, Du Plessis wobbled Usman with a knee to the face. Usman recovered quickly but had trouble closing the distance with the South African. He finally went for a takedown, but Du Plessis was able to handle it and was up immediately. Du Plessis hit Usman with a punch to the eye. Usman said it was an eyepoke, and he got some time from referee Kerry Hatley, who then got told it was a punch by the officials cageside.
He let the fight go on, but the momentum from the punch was gone at that moment. Du Plessis still tried to push the pace, with Usman trying to match the South African fighter. Also in the third round, Du Plessis keeps pushing the pace. Du Plessis punched and kicked his way forward. Usman tried to counter, but still didn’t have the distance management right. At the end of round three, Usman got the takedown, but just like earlier, Du Plessis was up right away. It was Usman’s best round, but it was still close. Du Plessis landed a head kick in the fourth round that staggered Usman again. Du Plessis tried to finish the fight, but Usman kept his distance. Usman was very tough and kept fighting forward.
Unfortunately for the former champion, he wasn’t able to land anything of significance. Usman got told by his corner before the last round that he needed a finish. Du Plessis kept landing that head kick. But Usman kept recovering and walking forward. Du Plessis then went for a surprising takedown. Usman tried to get the choke in, but Du Plessis walked away. With one minute to go, Du Plessis seemed gassed while Usman tried to land some hard shots. Du Plessis tried to keep the distance and was able to keep Usman from closing in. After five rounds, Du Plessis won via unanimous decision.
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Top 8 Next?
In an important fight in the top 15 in the middleweight division, former title challenger Jared Cannonier took on the upcoming Christian Leroy Duncan. The 42-year-old American surprised early on, trying to grapple with Duncan. The Englishman was able to keep the fight standing and kept defending takedowns against the cage. Surprisingly, Duncan took down Cannonier, but the American got up against the cage. In the final minute of the round, Duncan unleashed some heavy punches on Cannonier. Cannonier was able to get through the barrage of punches and took Duncan’s back, but the round was over. Cannonier kept trying to initiate grappling while avoiding heavy punches from Duncan.
The English fighter pushed Cannonier off him and landed some heavy shots. Duncan landed a spinning elbow, but Cannonier took it without too much trouble. One minute before the end of the second round, Cannonier finally was successful with a takedown. Both guys looked tired. Duncan shrugged Cannonier off and took top position. But the round was over. In the third round, Cannonier kept trying to get the fight to the ground. Duncan was able to prevent it many times and landed some hard punches. Cannonier was very durable and able to proceed in the fight. But after three rounds, it was clear that Duncan had done enough to win the fight via unanimous decision.
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Battle Between Two Top Prospects
In a fight between two high-level prospects in the featherweight division, Austin Bashi took on Jose Miguel Delgado. Bashi started strong and dropped Delgado with a hard punch. Delgado was able to recover but had difficulties closing the distance. Right when Bashi thought the round and fight were going his way, he got knocked down by Delgado. Delgado tried to finish the fight and did a lot of damage to the face of Bashi, but wasn’t able to finish the fight, and stole the round. In the second round, Bashi recovered, and both guys were very competitive with each other.
Bashi seemed to have an advantage in the grappling, but Delgado looked stronger. Bashi ended the round with a takedown, but the round seemed pretty even. In the third round, Bashi kept looking to get Delgado to the ground. Delgado was able to stop many takedowns and keep the fight mostly standing. At the end of the fight, Delgado went for the takedown himself and got caught in a guillotine choke. Delgado escaped but had to allow Bashi to get the top position. Bashi ended the fight by going for a leg lock. After three rounds, Delgado won the fight by unanimous decision.
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Full Results UFC Oklahoma City
Main Card
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Dricus Du Plessis def. Kamaru Usman via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46).
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Christian Leroy Duncan def. Jared Cannonier via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
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Chase Hooper def. Mitch Ramirez via submission (rear-naked choke) – R1, 2:15.
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Fatima Kline def. Tabatha Ricci via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
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Tommy McMillen def. Alberto Montes via TKO (punches) – R3, 3:29.
Preliminary Card
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Jose Miguel Delgado def. Austin Bashi via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
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JP Lebosnoyani def. SeokHyeon Ko via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
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Felipe Franco def. Levi Rodrigues Jr. via TKO (punches) – R2, 1:40.
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Ezra Elliott def. Damien Anderson via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
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Alden Coria def. Stewart Nicoll via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
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RJ Harris def. Alvin Hines via KO (punches) – R1, 1:40.
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Dione Barbosa def. Anna Melisano via submission (rear-naked choke) – R1, 4:04.
Full bonuses were also announced after the fights. (later)
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