Israel Adesanya came away impressed by Dricus Du Plessis after watching him beat Kamaru Usman at UFC Oklahoma City.
Du Plessis defeated Usman by decision in the July 18, 2026 main event at Paycom Center. Adesanya reacted on his FREESTYLEBENDER YouTube channel, and the full video is below.
Adesanya Talks Through The Fight In Real Time
Before the post-fight summary, Adesanya was reading the exchanges as they happened. He opened by backing Usman, but he also kept pointing out the ways Du Plessis looked sharper than usual.
“At 39, he looks fire. Sharp. Even that middleweight is all muscle. Full muscle.”
“He’s so relaxed. Jab straight away. Nice. Now I got to get on. Jab. Pump it out. Pump it out.”
“He’s looking for the uppercut to try and stop the takedown.”
“Composure, composure, composure. It’s a good counter for the single, though. Smart. They they did their homework.”
“There you go. Getting close. Don’t take a risk yet, but it’s almost time. You got to take a risk. Straight punches. Straight punches.”
As the fight settled, Adesanya kept circling back to Du Plessis’ kicks, feints, center control, and ability to exit before Usman could answer.
“That left kick, he flicks it up real quick.”
“Dricus he looks sharper. Less clumsy, more in position when he when he throw shots.”
“That’s yeah, they’ve drilled that. So, you draw that out, fake shot, then shot. That’ll draw it out.”
“Wait, that was a good fake. Cuz I fell for it. I thought it was a punch.”
“Even with the hand there, cuz you kick the arm enough times, the forearms, you you stop them from throwing it. Straight punches or tight tight shots. Cuz Dricus is going to come to him, so you don’t have to you don’t have to go to him. Just tight shots. Intercept with the shots.”
“That was the biggest one yet.”
“Nice. Exactly, intercept him there when he comes to you. Straight shots or tight shots.”
“Countering is not going to work cuz he he’s he’s already exited by the time. Yes, that’s what you need. Be first.”
“He went southpaw. He switched position.”
“Give it to him. Give it to him. That was good. That was good performance.”
Adesanya Says Du Plessis Looked Sharper
Adesanya’s final read matched what he had been calling out during the fight: Du Plessis was less loose in the wrong places, better with shot selection, and ready with the knee when Usman attacked the single-leg.
“One thing I did say was the left high kick from Dricus was sneaky. And, you know, Kamaru knew how to take care of it even though it hurt him out, you know, couple of points, but it’s the best I’ve seen Dricus look. He looked less out of position when he finished punching, when he initiated punching.
“Sometimes he still, you know, did his thing, you know, but he looked really good. Some of the shots he was throwing, the selection, and then the timing of the knee for that single leg. That was a That was a good chess move from their team.
“I wanted Kamaru to get it done, but again, just shows how good Dricus is. And good good on him. It’s good for us anyway.”
Adesanya Sees A Bigger African MMA Moment
When someone off camera noted that Usman still looked composed and kept his cardio even after getting hurt, Adesanya used the moment to talk about what repeated African main events can do for the sport.
“Yeah, you know, composure and stuff like that. But again, just for African MMA cuz all of this every time one of these happen cuz look, another two African fighters fight in the main event, you know, the whole continent’s going to watch.
“Even though it’s just a fight night, they’re still going to watch and support. And I think this is just going to expand, expand the talent pool in African MMA more. And yeah, I look forward to it.”
The reaction lands differently because of the history between Adesanya and Du Plessis, and because Du Plessis and Usman both left Oklahoma City with bonus money. Their title-fight rivalry once centered partly on African identity in MMA, with Usman and Francis Ngannou also pulled into the wider conversation. This time, Adesanya kept the focus on Du Plessis’ performance and what another African main event could mean for the continent’s fighters.
At the end of the clip, the room threw out a heavyweight fantasy matchup for Du Plessis.
“I want Dricus versus Francis.”
“Calm down.”
“All right, got me. I want Dricus versus Francis.”
Du Plessis’ win keeps him near the top of the middleweight picture, while Usman leaves Oklahoma City with a hard five-round loss and an eye-shot explanation from his move up from welterweight. Adesanya’s takeaway was specific: Du Plessis looked sharper, Usman was the fighter he wanted to see win, and another African main event can still pull more attention toward African MMA.
