UFC OKC results: Dricus du Plessis overwhelms, dominates Kamaru Usman for vintage win

Usman gets right back to front-kicking. DDP pursues head kicks to no avail. The jab connects for DDP. Usman’s volume has disappeared as he takes a sequence of punches. A hard low kick lands to the cup of Usman, pausing the action. The head kick blasts Usman! He’s in trouble when the fight resumes! DDP is spamming it! Usman fires back. DDP decides to shoot for a takedown and fails. Usman punches on the break. DDP gets back to the right hand and head kick. His best weapons. Usman chops with an inside low and punches at the retreating DDP. Usman lands a shot to the gut that bothers DDP! A right hand catches him! He’s backing off more now. 30 seconds. DDP jabs. Usman hammers late with the Hail Mary! A good effort, but not enough. Great heart.

10-9 Usman. (48-47 du Plessis.)

DDP lands a body kick. Usman keeps throwing his front kick to the body in return. They’re mostly range finders. Usman eats a Superman Punch off the cage. Wild. He jabs nicely. DDP gets clubbed with a right hand. The head kick slams into Usman! He wobbled badly! Another! He had the hand up for both, but still plenty of damage. DDP punches forward. Yet another head kick! Stepping right hand from DDP. And another lunging right. My goodness. Usman goes for a desperation takedown and fails. DDP gets to jabbing. A one-two lands in his favor. They swing away. Usman is just winging punches now, and cracks DDP with a right straight! Too little too late.

10-9 du Plessis. (39-37 du Plessis.)

Usman starts to keep the distance with some front kicks to the body. He nails DDP with a hard jab. DDP counters with that step-knee on Usman’s entry. It gets through, but not as clean as last round. The DDP right clips Usman behind the ear. He grazes Usman with a head kick. A jumping body kick lands for DDP before a follow-up stationary body kick. Usman doesn’t even seem to be thinking about wrestling. They each land right hands. A nice two-punch combo stings Usman. A much slower round, volume-wise. Usman lands a hard jab and blasts in for a big takedown! He gets it, but right back up is DDP. Usman lands the jab, then eats a knee up the middle. Usman starts a small rally.

10-9 Usman. (29-28 du Plessis.)

Usman punches forward right away with his right. DDP launches up a pair of head kicks. Usman double jabs, then gets hurt by a perfectly timed knee up the middle! DDP follows with a big right! Usman is on ice. He recovers, only to eat another knee and trade punches. The jab drills Usman before a big head kick. Wow. Another knee to Usman! DDP defends the takedown attempt. They tie up against the cage. DDP breaks away and clubs with his right hand. ANOTHER big step-knee hurts Usman! A pair of punches follows. He’s on fire. A big right gets through. A swinging right hook drills Usman, and he calls it an eye poke! No chance, man. Yep. The replay shows it was a punch, and DDP gets right back to unloading big punches. The right hand drops Usman! He gets up. Usman lands some good hooks to the body, grabbing hold of DDP for a moment. They break, and DDP cracks him with another right hand. He’s not even defending it. He lands more rights with a knee in between. A head kick gets through! How is Usman surviving?

DDP charges ahead with the right hand. Usman connects a nice left behind the ear, but it’s not enough to do anything significant.

10-9 du Plessis. (20-18 du Plessis.)

DDP jabs first. What a wild-looking matchup. Who would have thought?

DDP keeps working the jab within the first minute. Usman jabs to the body. A calf kick grazes Usman. DDP starts looking for the lead head kick. A nice one-two gets through for DDP. The right straight lands on Usman. He sends one bouncing off the top of Usman’s melon. Another one-two lands, then a big right! It stung Usman good. The right hand blasts Usman down the center again. That one hurt. A hard leg kick connects from DDP. That right hand again lands. It’s money right now. Usman launches one of his own in before taking a big jab. They sling leather in close, each grazing. Usman teases a single leg to try to land big hooks. A right gets through for Usman. DDP chops the leg. Usman clinches up with over-under hooks. They move to the cage, but DDP takes a low blow, briefly pausing the action. Usman jabs the thigh. Yes, you read that correctly. Usman blasts DDP with a big right down the center! He stumbles but seems fine. They trade body kicks to end the round.

10-9 du Plessis.

Believe it or not, neither of these dudes has fought in nearly a year.

Realistically, Saturday’s main event hinges entirely on how well du Plessis learned from his lopsided title loss to Chimaev. It was a wrestling clinic strong enough to make grown men cry — which it did for some, thanks to its lack of entertainment levels.

Usman is one of the best wrestlers in UFC history and has all the tools to drown and smother du Plessis in a sea of single-legs and mat returns. But the physical differences between these two is where the X-factor lies. Usman is 39 years old and more inactive than he’s ever been, returning to a division 15 pounds heavier than his old 170-pound home.

A bigger, more awkward former champion of du Plessis’ caliber isn’t anywhere near slowing down. At age 32, he’s still in the prime of his career with many good years left ahead of him. “DDP” is a modern-day bruiser of the highest caliber. He seeks to inflict damage at any turn and angle, including those most don’t even see coming.

Usman has always been an underrated striker. He has a great jab, and if he catches that chin clean, he can send consciousness into another stratosphere. Just ask Jorge Masvidal. (Sorry, Jorge.)

The problem with this matchup is that everything outside of wrestling favors du Plessis. And I mean everything. That obviously didn’t matter when the same could be said about Joaquin Buckley in Usman’s last fight, but that was back down at welterweight. Father Time doesn’t play games, and Usman is about to get greeted with a reality check.

Pick: du Plessis

CLD gets back to sticking the body with his push kick, settling into a punch combo. A left straight gets through for CLD before Cannonier embraces to take the back and get a drag down. CLD quickly bursts free. He jabs. Another lands. Cannonier fires back with a jab while elbowing, only to clinch up again. Cannonier looks to drag CLD down from behind with a waist lock and ends up kicking out CLD’s feet. CLD gets right back up. Cannonier attempts another takedown but can’t secure it. They break, and CLD blasts off some punches. Knees land close to the body before the hooks wobble Cannonier. He’s somehow surviving. CLD holds Cannonier up against the cage. Some late uppercuts sneak up the middle for CLD, but there’s not much behind them. CLD grazes with a late spinning back fist before time expires.

10-9 Duncan. (30-27 Duncan.)

A spinning back kick from CLD knocks down Cannonier by catching him off balance when it connects to the chest. CLD nearly illegally decapitates Cannonier with a flying knee while downed. Cannonier avoids it to lock up on a potential single-leg. He presses for it. They break, and CLD takes an elbow to the temple. Another lands in tight, before another big punch from Cannonier. CLD starts to unload again, wobbling Cannonier! Cannonier fires back! They move to the cage. A hard jab stabs CLD. A big spinning elbow paralyzes Cannonier! CLD lets him off the hook, and they clinch! Wow. Cannonier slings another elbow in tight. They break before engaging in close combat again. CLD knees, giving Cannonier a body lock takedown right into half guard. CLD transitions to get around and onto Cannonier’s back. He punches lightly, and Cannonier starts grabbing the fence. Time expires.

10-9 Duncan. (20-18 Duncan.)

CLD nearly blasts Cannonier with a spinning back fist right out the gate. Sheesh. He just whiffed and gets to kicking low and to the body. He’s flowing nicely already. Push kicks land in succession. One goes low, but Cannonier wastes no time, and they get back to moving. The push kicks from CLD are relentless until Cannonier catches one and attempts a takedown. CLD defends against the cage. Cannonier knees the knees every so often as they shuffle position. CLD takes control and blasts an elbow to Cannonier’s dome. They dance to the other side of the cage and break. CLD kicks and gets clinched up again. He tries for a spinning back elbow and misses. Instead, CLD dumps Cannonier for a quick takedown. A nice elbow cracks Cannonier against the cage. CLD starts to unload a massive flurry of strikes. An assortment, if you will. The spinning elbow lands, knocking CLD off balance! He threw so hard he tripped, allowing a Cannonier takedown. Round ends in a brief grappling exchange.

10-9 Duncan.

Like du Plessis, Jared Cannonier hasn’t fought since UFC 319 in August 2025. In that time, Christian Leroy Duncan has leveled up with two great wins, and now rides into Saturday looking better than ever on a four-fight win streak.

Cannonier seemingly hasn’t aged like a normal human being, looking phenomenal at age 42. However, his performances have slowed drastically. Outside of catching Gregory Rodrigues, three of his past four fights have ended with him outpointed everywhere.

Cannonier going from Michael “Venom” Page as an opponent straight into Duncan is almost mean of the matchmakers. You’re essentially giving Cannonier a bigger, more dangerous version of “MVP.” It’s a fight Cannonier has to make ugly or wild, otherwise he’s getting picked apart en route to a highlight-reel finish. Duncan is too fast and too young, with tons of momentum on his side.

Pick: Duncan