The UFC Oklahoma City card will feature twelve bouts, all of which will be previewed in this post. The card will be headlined by a bout between former middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis (pictured left) and former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman (pictured right).

A fighter’s CC win probabilities are based off of a fighter’s Cage Calculus (CC) Rating and their place in the CC Rankings. A fighter’s CageCalc+ Score is determined by a variety of factors and is specific to each matchup. The CageCalc+ projection is an estimated win probability based on this statistic. Each fighter’s new CC Ratings after their bouts will be determined by the first CC win probability only.

Also featured below their record and rating is their divisional rankings in the CC Rankings and the official UFC Rankings. Both their media ranking and Meta AI ranking are displayed. Any fighter falling outside of the top 15 of their respective division is classified as NR (not ranked).

Also displayed to the right of their rankings is a fighter’s CCz Score. A positive CCz Score indicates a fighter is above average for their weight class. A negative one indicates they are below average. The higher the number is, the farther away from average a fighter is (in either direction). CCz Scores typically range from as high as positive 4, to as low as negative 2.5.

The fighter’s name highlighted in green at the bottom of the panel indicates the editor’s pick to win. The numbers above each fighter’s name indicates their posted odds to win on FanDuel Sportsbook as of the posting of these previews.

Without further ado, here is the Cage Calculus tale of the tape for this week’s fights!

UFC Oklahoma City (Du Plessis vs. Usman) Previews – July 18, 2026

Dione Barbosa vs. Anna Melisano

Editor’s Note: Melisano is probably the better striker here. Under normal circumstances this would be closer. But, Melisano takes this fight on short notice to make her UFC debut. Barbosa can use her wrestling to get a relatively easy decision win.

Ryan Gandra vs. Zach Reese

Editor’s Note: This is another striker/grappler matchup where one is taking the fight on short notice to make their debut. This time, it’s the grappler (Harris) who’s the debutant lacking a full camp. Harris has above average submission ability for the division and is an interesting addition to the UFC. However, I will once again defer to the fighter who’s had more prep time and has seen UFC-level competition before (thought with less confidence this time).

Alden Coria vs. Stewart Nicoll

Editor’s Note: Coria is a stud striker who is also adept at finding the finish in the submission game. He is just still coming into his own. Nicoll, on the other hand sits second-to-last in Cage Calculus’ flyweight rankings. No need to overthink this one.

Damien Anderson vs. Ezra Elliott

Editor’s Note: Both men are largely unknown quantities added to the card late in the game. Both have similar results over their short careers. The only tiebreakers for me to pick this are Elliott’s added experience and his three-inch reach advantage.

Felipe Franco vs. Levi Rodrigues Jr.

Editor’s Note: Franco is a good volume striker who will be the better wrestler. But, Rodrigues is the type of guy whose power will become the stuff of legends if he strings together one or two more knockouts. He’s very long and it doesn’t take much for him to put a guy out. I’m betting the undefeated KO streak will not stop here.

Seok Hyeon Ko vs. Jean-Paul Lebsonoyani

Editor’s Note: Seok’s wrestling will be the difference maker. Lebsonoyani is a solid volume striker, but accuracy and defense remain lacking. Seok shouldn’t have to worry about a knockout and be able to control the fight on the ground, where Lebsonoyani’s low takedown defense will come into play.

Jose Delgado vs. Austin Bashi (Featured Prelim)

Editor’s Note: This is a bout between a relentless striker and KO artist (Delgado) and a relentless offensive wrestler (Bashi). Typically, in those scenarios, the wrestler wins. It only take one takedown to get the fight where you want it and win a round. That’s why I like Bashi in this tilt.

Tommy McMillen vs. Alberto Montes

Editor’s Note: McMillen is the KO artist here, while Montes is more of a submission threat. However, his takedown numbers don’t suggest he’ll be able to mitigate McMillen’s five-inch reach advantage and power. As long as McMillen keeps the fight standing, he should find another knockout.

Tabatha Ricci vs. Fatima Kline

Editor’s Note: Ricci is a bona fide top ten strawweight, there’s no doubt. However, Kline is the type of talent that may well be in the title picture soon. She’s a long, rangy striker with solid KO ability, but has also shown to be adept at wrestling if need be. Kline should use her length to pick Ricci apart to a decision, unless Ricci gets desperate for a clinch or takedown and gets caught. Kline’s certainly capable of that as well.

King Green vs. Terrance McKinney

Editor’s Note: Hooper is just the better fighter in all aspects of the game (his weight miss notwithstanding). He’s also one of the premier submission artists in the lightweight division. This is an opportunity for him to get a finish towards a renewed assault on the top 15 of the weight class.

Jared Cannonier vs. Christian Leroy Duncan (Co-Main Event)

Editor’s Note: Five years ago, give me Cannonier all day. However, now into his forties, he doesn’t have the same pop he did before. He pulled off a nice upset against Gregory Rodrigues last year, but was able to do so in a five-round fight, where Rodrigues almost certainly gassed out, despite winning early. In this three-round co-main event, there will be no such luck. Duncan is a dynamic fighter with good power and speed. It should give Cannonier all sorts of fits.

Dricus Du Plessis vs. Kamaru Usman (Main Event)

Editor’s Note: BACK UP THE TRUCK! People must have forgotten Usman’s last fight, where he embarassed Joaquin Buckley over five rounds, despite being a huge underdog. A few losses to Leon Edwards at the end of his title reign and to Khamzat Chimaev on super short notice have people doubting Usman. Not here. Du Plessis has very suspect takedown defense, nor will he be able to use offensive wrestling to his advantage (as he did against Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland). Du Plessis will need to keep this standing. Usman is a superb wrestler, but also has one of the best jabs in the UFC. All around, it’s a hard fight to see Du Plessis winning over five rounds. Back up the truck for the Nigerian Nightmare!

Picture Credit: UFC