Sooo ... About Last Night

Last night (Sat., July 18, 2026), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ventured forth to Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for UFC Oklahoma City. It’s not great when a relatively weak card loses one of its best fights less than two weeks before showtime. Without the “Trail Blazer” Kevin Holland here to soothe our ears with his constant chatter, the attention really focused onto the main and co-main events. In the former, Kamaru Usman looked to prove himself a genuine Middleweight title threat by taking out former champion Dricus du Plessis, while the latter saw grizzled veteran Jared Cannonier attempt to halt the rise of spinning sensation Christian Leroy Duncan.

Let’s take a closer look at the best performances and highlight finishes of the evening:

DDP Pitches A Shutout

Dricus du Plessis beat the brakes off Kamaru Usman.

There were very few actually competitive minutes of this fight, only moments that du Plessis took his foot off the gas. From the first bell, du Plessis was feinting well and stinging Usman with hard jabs from both stances. Before too long, his right hand was thudding Usman upside the head, forcing his knees to lock out. From the second round onward, du Plessis badly rocked Usman with his left high kick at least once per round!

Credit to Usman: he is ungodly tough. Several times, you could visibly witness the lights attempt to shut off, and Usman willed them on anyway. He took an absolutely brutal beating here. Countless hard punches and kicks upside the head, as well as about a dozen ripping liver kicks. It was a vicious amount of punishment for any fighter, let alone a 39-year-old former champion.

I’m reminded of his friend Henry Cejudo and the “Triple C” Swan Song against Payton Talbott. This was a competitor of the highest order, badly outmatched late in his career and still unwilling to fold. Usman’s heart and grit were incredible to witness, even if those traits ultimately just gave du Plessis more chances to unload as the fight wore on.

Chase Hooper Course Corrects

Chase Hooper’s battle with Mitch Ramirez didn’t last long, but there were some promising signs.

In Hooper’s last two fights, the lanky grappling ace chased after his quicker, shorter opposition and ran into nasty counter punches. By trying to make the most of his volume and cardio, Hooper gave away his reach advantage and made himself hittable. Against Ramirez, Hooper didn’t chase. He circled and kicked, and then at the first possible moment, changed levels and got to the grappling.

That’s what he should be doing!

Once on the floor, Hooper is brilliant to watch. He effortlessly slid behind Ramirez to jump the back, immediately locking in a body triangle. Ramirez tried to give up mount and create scrambles, but Hooper’s length allowed him to maintain the triangle regardless. Before too long, Hooper was under the neck, forcing his opponent to tap.

Hooper should be quickly dispatching opponents at the level of Ramirez. Even so, it was nice to see “The Dream” make the most of his skill set and pick up a quick finish in the process.

Fatima Kline, Future Champion?

My live reaction to Fatima Kline stuffing the head, limp-legging out of a takedown, and spinning her way into top position against a talented grappler in Tabatha Ricci: “Hot damn, this girl can wrestle!”

Kline continued to impress throughout the fight, landing lots of her own takedowns across 15 minutes. She landed powerful double legs in the open, chain-wrestled beautifully in the clinch, and landed a couple belly-to-back suplexes late in the fight. The latter throws were made a little easier by the size advantage — Ricci could be an Atomweight — but there was some really excellent wrestling on display throughout the contest.

On the feet, I really enjoyed the 26-year-old standout’s shot selection. She’s not a natural knockout puncher — how many female fighters truly are? — but is able to do real damage anyway because she focuses on slamming home hard body kicks, chopping low kicks, bruising elbows, and relentless knees. She feinted takedowns and then threw combinations that landed with a thud. It was a great show of how to do damage without cracking like Jessica Andrade or Amanda Nunes.

She’s a jiu-jitsu black belt too, by the way. Only the bell saved Ricci from a second-round submission loss (see above).

At this very moment, I like Kline’s odds against most of the Strawweight Top 10. In a year or two? It might be title time.

Tommy Gun Goes Off

I get that people want Tommy McMillen to lose.

The up-and-comer is braggadocios and a little off-putting on the mic. His defense is nowhere to be found. His general attitude and vibe are eerily close to his training partner, Sean O’Malley, who is already doing a discount impression of Conor McGregor. He still hasn’t beaten any particularly accomplished opposition.

None of this means McMillen can’t be a legitimate prospect.

McMillen landed over 200 significant shots last night, beating the breaks off Alberto Montes en route to a third-round stoppage victory — those are Max Holloway numbers! The early exchanges were competitive, but McMillen just kept ramping up the pressure and volume until his opponent crumbled. While aggressively pushing the pace, McMillen continuously hit the body and mixed clinch knees into his offensive barrage, attacking different targets and at different ranges.

There’s a lot to like about McMillen, who is massive for the Featherweight division and understands how to impose that physicality on his opposition. I don’t think he’s quite as talented, but he has a similar approach to combat as Bantamweight’s Payton Talbott — second Talbott mention of the night! — that’s built around volume, damage, and athleticism.

Like it or not, “Tommy Gun” is a real prospect.

Additional Thoughts

• Felipe Franco defeats Levi Rodrigues Jr. via second-round knockout (highlights): Franco picked up his first UFC win in style, handing Rodrigues Jr. the first loss of his professional career. Wrestling got the job done, as Franco exchanged just enough to time double leg shots and overpower Rodrigues Jr. to the floor. Fortunately, the Brazilian standout didn’t stop there. He continued to advance position well and attack with power shots, a combination which helped him land in mount at the end of the first and early in round two. On both occasions, Franco was active with his Donkey Kong-esque ground-and-pound, and the damage added up to force the finish. It’s great to see a prospect who actually wants to finish via strikes on the canvas!
• RJ Harris defeats Alvin Hines via first-round knockout (highlights): Who doesn’t love a Heavyweight fight that ends in roughly a minute? Hines was the more established name compared to 5-0 Harris, whose Octagon debut came with little fanfare. Nevertheless, he timed a beautiful uppercut counter early in the first round, catching Hines as he withdrew backwards following a right hand swing of his own. The uppercut quite literally lifted Hines’ toes off the canvas, and the slew of followup shots that forced the finish were pretty nasty as well. Welcome to the UFC, “Hammer!”
• Dione Barbosa defeats Anna Melisanovia first-round rear naked choke (highlights): Melisano deserves some credit for taking this fight on short notice, but the Fury FC veteran got very little going in her UFC debut. Barbosa wasted little time in pushing across the Octagon and scoring an early takedown along the fence. When Melisano tried to scramble to her feet, Barbosa jumped the back and held on even as Melisano gained her footing. In the transition between ground and standing, Barbosa attacked, locking in the strangle in quick fashion.

For complete UFC Oklahoma City results and play-by-play, click here.