Two guys who used to hold belts are squaring up Saturday night in Oklahoma City, and neither one of them is fighting for a title. That’s the whole story, really — but in this sport, that’s plenty.
UFC Fight Night 281 headlines with Dricus du Plessis against Kamaru Usman at the Paycom Center, a middleweight main event between a 32-year-old South African who just lost his crown and a 39-year-old Nigerian-American who’s chasing one more shot at the buffet table before the kitchen closes.
Du Plessis (23-3) became the first South African to win a UFC title when he took the middleweight strap, defending it twice against Sean Strickland and once against Israel Adesanya. Then Khamzat Chimaev showed up at UFC 319 and took it from him by unanimous decision. Now du Plessis is trying to claw his way back, and the oddsmakers like his chances — he opened around -205 to -230 at DraftKings, with Usman sitting at +170 to +190.
Usman (21-4) is one of the great welterweights the sport has ever seen. Five title defenses. A 15-fight UFC win streak. A 97.3% takedown defense rate that’s the gold standard at 170 pounds. But that was 170 pounds, and that was before three consecutive losses — the last of them a short-notice middleweight bout against Chimaev in 2023. Usman snapped the skid with a decision win over Joaquin Buckley in June 2025, his only fight since. This week he called himself a “moneyweight fighter,” saying he’d take a bout at welterweight, middleweight, or even light heavyweight if the price was right.
“I’m a moneyweight fighter now, so hey, if it’s up at welterweight, I’ll do it,” Usman said. “If it’s up at middleweight, I’ll do it. If it’s up at light heavyweight, I might do it.”
UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev — who shares management with Usman — still picks the other guy. Speaking to Murad Machaev in a recent interview, Makhachev said he expects du Plessis to win, pointing to Usman’s knees as the deciding factor.
“It’s going to be a tough fight. He’ll probably try to wrestle… To be honest, I think du Plessis wins. Usman’s knees are bad, he can’t wrestle constantly,” Makhachev said, via Bloody Elbow.
Makhachev did call the move smart: if Usman pulls off the upset, he’d be in line for a title shot against current middleweight champion Sean Strickland — a man Usman already beat back in 2017 when both fought at welterweight.
The co-main event features former middleweight title contender Jared Cannonier against Christian Leroy Duncan, with Duncan listed as a -355 favorite. The rest of the main card includes Chase Hooper vs. Mitch Ramirez at lightweight, Tabatha Ricci vs. Fatima Kline at women’s strawweight, and Tommy McMillen vs. Alberto Montes at featherweight.
The main card streams on Paramount+ starting at approximately 7 p.m. ET — no pay-per-view fee, which is the kind of deal that makes you wonder what the catch is until you remember the seven-year streaming deal UFC signed with the platform through 2033.
Du Plessis has won 11 of his last 12. Usman has won one of his last five. The odds say what they say. But Usman’s been counted out before, and the man still holds welterweight records that may never fall. Saturday night tells us whether that history still means something at 185 pounds, or whether it’s just something nice for the highlight reel.
Sources:
- CBS Sports — UFC Fight Night start time for du Plessis vs. Usman
- Yahoo Sports — UFC Fight Night 281 live updates
- Yahoo Sports / Heavy — Islam Makhachev Predicts du Plessis vs. Usman
- CBS Sports — UFC Fight Night odds, lines, predictions