The South African fighter held the middleweight belt from January 2024 until August 2025, when he lost to Chimaev.
Published July 19, 2026
Doricas du Plessis relied on his South African roots in his first fight in nearly a year to secure a unanimous decision victory over Nigeria’s Kamaru Usman in the middleweight main event of UFC Fight Night in Oklahoma City.
The judges on Saturday scored the fight 50-45, 49-46, 49-46 in favor of du Plessis (24-3 MMA). Du Plessis won his first nine fights in the UFC and held the middleweight belt from January 2024 until mid-August last year.
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Du Plessis has not fought since his winning streak was ended by reigning champion Khamzat Chimaev.
“I had to stand up,” the 32-year-old said. “There are a lot of South African kids who look up to me.
“It’s bigger than me. I can’t lie down.”
In a contest that was fought squarely with no takedowns or submissions, du Plessis never looked rusty, finishing with a convincing 139-99 advantage in total strikes, landing 136 significant strikes to Usman’s 92.
Usman (21-5) was the UFC welterweight champion from March 2019 to November 2021. However, the 39-year-old Nigerian has lost four of his past five matches and was unable to make it two wins in a row this weekend in his first match in 13 months.
In the middleweight co-main event, England’s Christian Leroy Duncan (15-2 MMA) defeated Jared Cannonier (18-10 MMA) by unanimous decision. The scorecard read 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 for Duncan.
