Dricus Du Plessis will fight for the first time since losing the middleweight championship at UFC Oklahoma City against Kamaru Usman on July 18.
The bout will headline the card and take place at middleweight, meaning former welterweight champion Usman will jump up a weight class.
Du Plessis last appeared at UFC 319 in August, losing an embarrassing one-sided decision to Khamzat Chimaev. The South African had his grappling exposed in that one, and the result cut his title reign off at two successful defenses. Du Plessis had won 11 in a row and was 9-0 in the UFC before running into Chimaev.
Usman has been similarly inactive over the past year, sitting out since earning a dominant decision win over Joaquin Buckley last June at a Fight Night show in Atlanta.
The 39-year-old lobbied for a welterweight title shot after defeating Buckley, looking to polish off his resume before retirement. Usman defended the welterweight belt five times between 2019 and 2021 before losing three straight. Usman fought at middleweight once, losing a short-notice majority decision to Chimaev before going back to welterweight and beating Buckley.
The July event will mark the promotion’s third trip to Oklahoma City following Fight Nights in 2017 (Kevin Lee vs. Michael Chiesa) and 2009 (Nate Diaz vs. Melvin Guillard).
Other fights booked for the event include Jared Cannonier versus Christian Leroy Duncan (middleweight) and Kevin Holland versus Jacobe Smith (welterweight).
