A pair of former UFC champions are set to headline a UFC Fight Night in mid-July.
Dricus Du Plessis will face Kamaru Usman in Oklahoma City on July 18 at the Paycom Center, the UFC confirmed Saturday during the Fight Night: Kape vs. Horiguchi broadcast.
Du Plessis is a former middleweight champion, while Usman is a former longtime welterweight champion who has moved up from 170 to 185 pounds.
This card will mark the UFC’s return to OKC for the first time in almost a full decade and the fifth event in the state of Oklahoma in UFC history. The most recent was in 2017.
South Africa’s Du Plessis, 31, hasn’t fought since losing the title to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 last August. Chimaev has since lost the belt to Sean Strickland, over whom Du Plessis holds two championship victories. Du Plessis also holds stoppage wins over fellow former middleweight champions Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker
Nigeria’s Usman, 39, returned to the win column one year ago when he defeated Joaquin Buckley. He previously lost three in a row — two to Leon Edwards, which ended his welterweight title reign, and a short-notice majority decision to Chimaev in 2023 in his middleweight debut.
Other matchups previously announced for UFC OKC include Kevin Holland vs. Jacobe Smith, Jared Cannonier vs. Christian Leroy Duncan and Brad Tavares vs. Canada’s Marc-Andre Barriault.