Kamaru Usman is returning to the middleweight division and getting a chance to jump right into ******* le contention against a former champion.
Former welterweight ******* leholder Usman will face Dricus Du Plessis in the main event of UFC Fight Night 281 on July 18 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK. The entire card streams on Paramount+.
The promotion announced the five-round headliner between Du Plessis (23-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) and Usman (21-4 MMA, 16-3 UFC) on during Saturday's UFC Fight Night 279 broadcast.
Du Plessis, 32, returns to action for the first time since losing the 185-pound ******* le to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 in August. It was the South African's first defeat inside the octagon, but with two victories over Sean Strickland, he remains one of the top contenders in the weight class and can put himself back in the discussion with a big victory.
Usman, 38, hasn't competed since June when he earned a unanimous decision victory over Joaquin Buckley. That result snapped a three-fight losing skid for "The Nigerian Nightmare," two of which came to Leon Edwards in 170-pound ******* le fights as well as a short-notice defeat to Chimaev at middleweight.
Former welterweight ******* leholder Usman will face Dricus Du Plessis in the main event of UFC Fight Night 281 on July 18 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK. The entire card streams on Paramount+.
The promotion announced the five-round headliner between Du Plessis (23-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) and Usman (21-4 MMA, 16-3 UFC) on during Saturday's UFC Fight Night 279 broadcast.
Du Plessis, 32, returns to action for the first time since losing the 185-pound ******* le to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 in August. It was the South African's first defeat inside the octagon, but with two victories over Sean Strickland, he remains one of the top contenders in the weight class and can put himself back in the discussion with a big victory.
Usman, 38, hasn't competed since June when he earned a unanimous decision victory over Joaquin Buckley. That result snapped a three-fight losing skid for "The Nigerian Nightmare," two of which came to Leon Edwards in 170-pound ******* le fights as well as a short-notice defeat to Chimaev at middleweight.
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