UFC News

Chris Taylor - July 18, 2026

Tonight’s UFC Oklahoma City event is headlined by a highly anticipated middleweight showdown between Dricus du Plessis and Kamaru Usman. Du Plessis (24-3 MMA) will be competing for the first time since losing the promotion‘s middleweight title to Khamzat Chimaev 11 months ago at UFC 319. Prior to that lopsided decision defeat, ‘DDP’ had strung together 10 straights wins, which included victories over Sean Strickland (x2), Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker and Darren Till.

Chris Taylor - July 18, 2026

Tonight’s UFC Oklahoma City event is co-headlined by a middleweight contest featuring Jared Cannonier taking on Christian Leroy Duncan. Cannonier (18-10 MMA) will be competing for the first time since dropping a decision to Michael Page eleven months ago at UFC 319. Prior to that setback, ‘Tha Killa Gorilla’ was coming off a fourth-round TKO victory over Gregory Rodrigues. The 42-year-old has gone 3-3 over his past six Octagon appearances overall.

Chris Taylor - July 18, 2026

Tonight’s UFC Oklahoma City main card lineup features a lightweight bout between Chase Hooper and Mitch Ramirez. Hooper (17-5-1 MMA) will enter the contest with hopes of snapping a two-fight losing skid. ‘The Dream’ has suffered first-round TKO losses to Alexander Hernandez and Lance Gibson Jr. in his two most recent Octagon appearances. Prior to those setbacks, the 26-year-old had strung together five straights wins, which included victories over Clay Guida and Jim Miller.

Chris Taylor - July 18, 2026

The Octagon invades Paycom Center for tonight’s UFC Oklahoma City event, a 12-bout fight card headlined by Dricus du Plessis vs. Kamaru Usman. Du Plessis (23-3 MMA) will be competing for the first time since losing the promotion‘s middleweight title to Khamzat Chimaev 11 months ago at UFC 319. Prior to that lopsided decision defeat, ‘DDP’ had strung together 10 straights wins, which included victories over Sean Strickland (x2), Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker and Darren Till.

Dylan Bowker - July 17, 2026

Sean Strickland helms the UFC’s middleweight division and steadily gets in work with someone vying for gold in another promotion this weekend. The combatant in question is Johnny Eblen, who runs it back with Impa Kasanganay for a rematch with the interim middleweight belt on the line at PFL Austin on July 18th. The winner will battle lineal PFL middleweight champion Costello Van Steenis at a later juncture when the 185-pound titleholder gets off the shelf from his injury. Speaking to the motivational component, getting to work with the UFC champion and potential future UFC Hall of Famer in Sean Strickland, who really touts Johnny Eblen’s skills in quite a high regard, Eblen said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],

Curtis Calhoun - July 17, 2026

Alex Pereira’s former light heavyweight foe believes his post-fight attacks against referee Herb Dean are unwarranted. Former UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira’s bid to become the promotion’s first three-division titleholder fell short at the hands of Ciryl Gane at UFC Freedom 250 last month. In their interim heavyweight title fight, Gane finished Pereira by Round 2 TKO to secure a rematch against undisputed champion Tom Aspinall.

Curtis Calhoun - July 17, 2026

Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor answered a flurry of questions asked by fans on his X account about his current mindset. Conor McGregor’s latest comeback attempt at UFC 329 ended in a serious right leg injury suffered just seconds into his fight with Max Holloway. After throwing a failed spinning kick as the fight kicked off, McGregor landed awkwardly on his right leg and suffered an injury that could sideline him for another year.

Cole Shelton - July 17, 2026

Kamaru Usman is moving back up to middleweight. Usman is set to take on Dricus Du Plessis in the main event of UFC Oklahoma City in what will be a fan-friendly fight. Although Usman is the former welterweight champion, he opted to move back up to middleweight to take on Du Plessis.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 17, 2026

Conor McGregor is taking the blame for being too aggressive in his return fight at UFC 329. McGregor has insisted that he felt calm going into his first bout in five years, which is actually something his opponent Max Holloway agrees with. The “Notorious” one didn’t get to showcase what he had been working on, however, as he went for a leaping kick and ended up landing the wrong way on his right knee. McGregor couldn’t move around effectively, and the fight was stopped due to the injury just over one minute in.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 17, 2026

Conor McGregor is targeting a trilogy bout with Max Holloway to make up for his unforeseen injury. McGregor had planned on making the walk for his first fight in five years, which is exactly what he did at UFC 329. What the “Notorious” one wasn’t expecting was for his rematch with Holloway to be stopped before the action ever truly got going. That’s because McGregor suffered a right knee injury when he awkwardly landed off a jumping kick attempt.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 17, 2026

Dricus du Plessis and Kamaru Usman reached their contracted weights on Friday morning, and have now made their UFC Oklahoma main event official. Du Plessis and Usman are set for a collision course inside the Paycom Center on Saturday. Prior to fight night, “Stillknocks” tipped the scales at 185.5 pounds, while “The Nigerian Nightmare” clocked in at 186 pounds. The ceremonial weigh-in event is scheduled to take place at 7 p.m. ET.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 17, 2026

Jared Cannonier believes he understands how the UFC’s business model works, but he thinks fighters at certain tiers should be given increases. Cannonier has been a member of the UFC roster since 2015. While he hasn’t captured the top prize in the middleweight division, the 42-year-old has consistently hovered around the top 10 and even top five rankings throughout his run. With 20 fights under the UFC banner, Cannonier still feels he hasn’t been compensated close to his actual worth.