Kamaru Usman is headed to middleweight at UFC Oklahoma City. |
Getty/UFC
If Dricus Du
Plessis is to be believed, Kamaru
Usman took some convincing to accept a matchup against the
former
UFC middleweight champion.
“He didn’t want to sign the contract. I know that for a fact. I
spoke to the UFC and they said, ‘We finally convinced him to sign.’
If you need convincing to sign, that’s a problem, but I can’t blame
him,” Du Plessis told Fight
Forecast (transcription via MMAjunkie.com). “I also wouldn’t want to fight
me right now. It would be the smart move not to sign the fight, but
let’s go.”
Du Plessis and Usman will square off in the UFC
Oklahoma City headliner on July 18 at the Paycom Center in
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It’s Du Plessis’ first Octagon appearance
since relinquishing the middleweight strap to Khamzat
Chimaev in a lopsided unanimous decision defeat at UFC 319 last
August. Usman, a former welterweight rule, will return to 185
pounds for the first time since dropping a majority decision
against Chimaev at UFC 294 in October 2021.
Proving Grounds
Du Plessis believes the pairing will get him closer to a title
shot, not only because of Usman’s resume, but because “The Nigerian
Nightmare” is well known for his wrestling ability — something the
South African standout struggled with against Chimaev.
“We’ve been talking about the fight for a long time,” Du Plessis
said. “He’s mentioned the fight way before we made the fight, and I
said, ‘Well, cool. I’ll take that fight.’ People say, ‘Why don’t
you fight [Nassourdine’ Imavov?’ I don’t mind that fight either. I
want to fight somebody who gets me to my title again. Kamaru
Usman, yes, he’s a bit older, but now you look at what [Justin]
Gaethje just did, so that throws that argument out the window
immediately. Kamaru is arguably the best welterweight ever
alongside Georges St.
Pierre if you go off title defenses and all that. He has a win
over Sean
Strickland, had that very close fight with Khamzat
Chimaev, and that’s why I wanted this fight.
“What’s it going to mean for me to go out there and beat another
striker? I’ve done that many times. I’ve defended my belt against
strikers. I’ve beaten the best, which is Strickland at middleweight
twice. So, why go out there and fight another striker? People are
going to be like, ‘We know you can strike. What about the wrestling
and grappling?’ Because of my last fight. I want to go out there
and prove what I’ve done, go and figure this out, and go show the
problem that the middleweights have on their hands now because now
I am more complete. And I was a complete fighter, but now I am
complete in all areas.”