OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - JULY 18: Dricus Du Plessis of South Africa reacts after a victory against Kamaru Usman of Nigeria in a middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Paycom Center on July 18, 2026 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) After nearly a year away from the cage, Dricus Du Plessis returned in top form at UFC Oklahoma City, dominating Kamaru Usman across 5 rounds to re-establish himself as a top middleweight and title contender. Du Plessis hurt Usman badly in nearly every round, and it was only Usman’s impressive grit and toughness that kept him upright for 25 hard minutes. Through that time, “Stillknocks” showed off an improved level of defensive wrestling, shucking off many of Usman’s shots and springing back to his feet after one successful takedown. The win won’t completely erase the memory of Khamzat Chimaev laying on top of DDP for five rounds at UFC 319, but it’s certainly reinvigorated the South African fighter. “I was definitely in a slump. It wasn’t life-altering — well, it was life altering,” Du Plessis admitted on the Paramount+ post-show. “I had a couple of weeks where the confidence, how do you stay confident? Because everywhere you go, these days, you’re not only getting bullied at school. You go home and you get bullied on Facebook. You get bullied on social media, everywhere you go. And I have to thank, firstly, my parents, my brothers, my team, my coaches, my structure that I have.” Dricus Du Plessis opens up about how he dealt with his first loss in the UFC: "I had to get up. There's so many South African kids that look up to me. It's bigger than me, I can't go lie down." 📺 @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/0hPaVXWZQf — UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) July 19, 2026 “And then, of course, my religion, turning to God in these situations, that’s the only thing that can get you through that, because no person can make you feel better, because nobody understands what you are going through. And I found my strength there once again, and I had to get up. There was there’s so many South Africans, especially kids, that look up to me and go, ‘Look what he’s done.’ It’s bigger than me. I can’t go lie down.” After getting emotional talking about his team and God, Dricus smiled. “I love a challenge,” he said. “And, you know, after that [last] fight, my wrestling did suck. I looked at that and I’m like, ‘You suck, bro. What are you doing?’ … It’s my fault. You have to take that responsibility, and we as a team took that responsibility, and we fixed that.” “And I could go out there tonight and strike, not because we worked on the striking, because I had all the confidence in the world that I won’t get taken down. And if I did, I would get back up.” Du Plessis walks away from UFC Oklahoma City not just with a win and not just with a $100,000 Fight of the Night bonus, but with renewed confidence in his wrestling ability. Whether it will hold up against other top middleweights remains to be seen, but the crisis of confidence is clearly gone.