Former UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis returned to the win column with a dominant performance against ex-welterweight champ Kamaru Usman.
Du Plessis defeated Usman via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46) in the UFC Oklahoma City main event Saturday night at Paycom Center.
Du Plessis stepped into the Octagon for the first time since last August when he lost the 185-pound title to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319. In his postfight interview, the No. 2-ranked contender said he wants an opportunity to regain the belt. Sean Strickland, whom Du Plessis has twice beaten, dethroned Chimaev at UFC 328 in May.
"It feels absolutely amazing to be back," Du Plessis said. "I'm back in the winner's circle, baby. Let's get my belt back."
Du Plessis put on a clinic in the stand-up department to beat Usman, outlanding him 136-92 in significant strikes. The first two rounds were especially one-sided, with Du Plessis hurting Usman several times. His best weapons throughout the fight were his right hand and left high kick.
Usman made the fight a bit more competitive in the final three rounds, but Du Plessis still did more damage on the feet.
"I had him rocked maybe five or six times," Du Plessis said. "You've all seen the old Dricus. I told you, 'When I make this comeback, Stillknocks 2.0 will be the best Stillknocks you've ever seen.' That's what you call composure. I didn't go crazy when I caught him. I had him out on his feet a couple of times, but what we worked on as a team was composure.
"That being said, that man has one of the hardest heads I've ever hit in my life."
With the victory, Du Plessis improved to 10-1 in the UFC and 24-3 overall.
The 32-year-old South African beat Strickland by split decision to win the middleweight title in January 2024. He defended the belt twice, against Israel Adesanya and Strickland, before suffering a lopsided defeat to Chimaev last summer.
Usman returned to the Octagon for the first time since beating Joaquin Buckley at UFC Atlanta in June 2025. He was competing at middleweight for the second time in his UFC career and first time since an October 2023 loss to Chimaev. The 39-year-old Nigerian is now 1-4 in his last five appearances.
Despite the slump, Usman said he believes he can still compete with the best in the sport.
"You can see I still got it," Usman said. "I just gotta go back and reassess. ... We got some thinking to do."
He added: "It's very rare that I have an off night in here. Everyone gets it every once in a while. I guess this one was mine."
UFC CEO Dana White agreed with the sentiment that Usman isn't done yet.
"He's still got it," White said of Usman at the postfight press conference. "It's not like, 'Oh, Usman's done and he should retire.' He had a great fight tonight."
Usman is one of the greatest welterweights of all time. He held the 170-pound title from March 2019 to August 2022 and successfully defended it five times.
