A middleweight clash between two former champions Dricus du Plessis and Kamaru Usman will headline UFC Fight Night 281 in Oklahoma City on July 18th.

Du Plessis lost his grip on the middleweight title in August of last year after a unanimous decision defeat against Khamzat Chimaev, bringing an end to the 32-year’s nine-fight winning streak since joining the UFC.

Given that his reign as champion included beating Sean Strickland twice, DDP had been hoping that another title shot could be in the works when Strickland unexpectedly beat Khamzat by split-decision last month to reclaim the belt.

However, with Strickland out injured for now, du Plessis finds himself instead going up against a former long-time welterweight champion in the shape of the 39-year-old Usman.

Usman successfully defended the 170lb title on five occasions during a long unbeaten run in the UFC, before back-to-back defeats to Leon Edwards in 2022 and 2023 broke his momentum.

Usman then briefly tried his hand up at 185lbs by challenging the at-the-time unbeaten Khamzat Chimaev, and gave him a real test, before ultimately losing by majority decision.

Usman then dropped back down to 170lbs last time out, where he put in a very good performance during a unanimous decision win over Joaquin Buckley, but now he’s looking to challenge himself against of the best fighters the middleweight division has to offer.

DDP vs. Usman fronts a UFC Fight Night 281 event that will also include Jared Cannonier vs. Christian Leroy Duncan and Kevin Holland vs. Jacobe Smith.