UFC News

Chris Taylor - July 18, 2026

The Octagon invaded the Paycom Center for tonight’s UFC Oklahoma City event, and four fighters wound up walking away with performance bonuses. The 12-bout fight card was headlined by a highly anticipated middleweight showdown between Dricus du Plessis and Kamaru Usman. The contest proved to be a rather dominant showing from Dricus du Plessis. The former middleweight champion was able to hurt Kamaru Usman on multiple occasions, starting in the opening round. Despite wobbling the former welterweight champion with several left head kicks, ‘DDP’ was unable to score a finish as Usman showed off his heart and resilience for the entirety of their twenty-five-minute war. After five rounds of action, Du Plessis was awarded a much-deserved unanimous decision victory.

Chris Taylor - July 18, 2026

Tonight’s UFC Oklahoma City event was headlined by a highly anticipated middleweight bout between Dricus du Plessis and Kamaru Usman. Du Plessis (24-3 MMA) was returning to action 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 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

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

A combatant who battled Amanda Nunes for UFC gold is no longer a UFC contracted athlete. As reported by MMA Fighting, Irene Aldana is the fighter in question who will not be continuing her journey with the Ultimate Fighting Championship as of this juncture. The Mexican standout has not competed since a Fall 2024 setback to Norma Dumont, but Aldana still remained in the top ten rankings for contenders at 135 pounds before her departure from the promotion. The 38-year-old debuted in the UFC on the heels of notching multiple first-round finishes via strikes inside the Invicta FC cage.

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.

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

Volkan Oezdemir will not be returning to the Octagon anytime soon after being popped for EPO use. The UFC light heavyweight hasn’t seen action in 2026, and now we know why. “No Time” took to his Instagram page to reveal that he tested positive for the banned substance earlier this year. As a result, he has been suspended until June 17, 2027.

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.