By Kevin Rademeyer, Sports Journalist.
Photo Credit: Getty Images.
Too strong. Too quick. Too explosive. Dricus was simply too good for Usman, in Oklahoma City, as DDP made his return to the octagon.
The great fighters have a habit of making you forget the questions that surrounded them, only one fight before.
A year ago, Dricus du Plessis walked away from the Octagon having surrendered his UFC middleweight title to Khamzat Chimaev. The defeat was comprehensive enough for critics to wonder whether South Africa’s first UFC champion had been worked out. Had the wrestling deficiencies finally caught up with him? Had the extraordinary rise reached its peak?
On Saturday night in Oklahoma City, Du Plessis answered every one of those questions without ever needing to raise his voice.
His unanimous decision victory over Kamaru Usman was not the wild, chaotic spectacle that has often defined his career. It was something more satisfying. More mature. More complete. Full of composure.
Across five rounds against one of the finest wrestlers mixed martial arts has produced, Du Plessis looked like a fighter who had spent the past eleven months learning rather than lamenting.
He had said beforehand that this was exactly why he wanted Usman. “I’ve beaten the strikers,” he explained during fight week. “This fight will prove I have fixed the mistakes from my last fight.”
That was not pre-fight bravado. It turned out to be an accurate assessment.
Usman, a former welterweight champion and one of the most accomplished wrestlers in UFC history, simply could not impose the fight he wanted. Every attempt to close the distance came with a price. Knees met him as he entered range. Right hands found their target with unsettling regularity. Even when he succeeded in taking Du Plessis down briefly, the South African was back on his feet almost immediately.
There was nothing spectacular about the defence. It was simply efficient.
Round after round, Du Plessis dictated where the contest was fought. His jab established rhythm, his body kicks steadily drained Usman’s energy and, perhaps most impressively, he remained composed whenever the former champion tried to change momentum.
By the end of the second round, Usman already looked like a man searching for answers. He found very few, but he showed great heart and fight, to survive. He stood toe to toe with Dricus and never surrendered.
Styles make fights, and this was a great fight.
The judges reflected what most watching had seen. One scored it 50-45, the other two 49-46. Wide scorecards against a fighter of Usman’s pedigree are not handed out lightly.
There were moments when Usman rallied, particularly late in the contest, but they never felt like turning points. Du Plessis had already established control and, unlike earlier in his career, never allowed emotion to drag him into unnecessary exchanges.
Perhaps that was the biggest takeaway. Some reckless aggression remained, although limited. The awkward movement remained. The willingness to throw techniques from improbable angles certainly remained. But now there is patience alongside it.
That is a dangerous combination.
Du Plessis has never looked like the textbook mixed martial artist. He still doesn’t. His style remains unconventional enough to leave coaches scratching their heads. Yet opponents continue discovering the same uncomfortable truth: preparing for Dricus on paper bears very little resemblance to facing him inside the cage.
Usman admitted afterwards that he had simply experienced one of those nights every great athlete eventually encounters. “It was an off night,” he said.
Perhaps. Or perhaps he had simply run into a better fighter.
For South African sport, Du Plessis continues to occupy rare territory. Rugby has produced generations of global champions. Cricket and golf have long supplied world-class performers. Mixed martial arts had waited much longer.
When Du Plessis defeated Sean Strickland in 2024 to become South Africa’s first UFC champion, it was a breakthrough moment for the sport in this country. His title defence against Israel Adesanya elevated him further. Even defeat to Chimaev did little to diminish what he had already achieved.
This victory matters because of what it says about what comes next. Losing a championship reveals as much about an athlete as winning one. Some never recover. Others spend their careers trying to recreate what they once had.
The very best rebuild. Du Plessis appears firmly in that category.
Afterwards, there was little hesitation when he spoke about the future. “I’m back in the winner’s circle,” he said. “Let’s get my belt back.”
There is no guarantee that opportunity comes immediately. The middleweight division has never lacked contenders. But there was enough evidence in Oklahoma City to suggest the conversation has changed.
A year ago, people wondered whether Dricus du Plessis would ever fight for the title again. Today, the more relevant question is who will be brave enough to stand opposite him when he does.