Dricus Du Plessis vs. Kamaru Usman breakdown, prediction for UFC OKC
MMA Junkie fight analyst Dan Tom breaksdown the UFC Fight Night 281 main event between Dricus Du Plessis and Kamaru Usman.
Video Transcript
Former champs fight it out in Oklahoma City.
Dan Tom here with MMA Junkie to help you break down the main event for UFC Fight Night two eighty-one between Dricus Du Plessis and Kamaru Usman.
Usman, who is the former welterweight champ, is moving up to middleweight to take on the former middleweight champ in Du Plessis.
And well, Usman showed he still has some gas left in that proverbial tank when he was able to beat Joaquin Buckley last time out over five rounds.
Whereas Du Plessis, well, he was last seen with his title, but he did not leave with his title as, well, he was on the wrong side of a five-round domination by now former champ Khamzat Chimaev.
At the time of this video, the odds makers and the public are siding with the former middleweight champ in Du Plessis in the neighborhood of minus two fifty, with the comeback on your underdog, the former welterweight champ Usman, in the neighborhood of plus one ninety.
Now, seeing Usman as a dog here doesn't surprise me, and you could very easily argue that Du Plessis is the deserved favorite.
He is the bigger man, the more active fighter, and, you know, even though he used to be a former welterweight, you know, there's no denying, like I said, again, his size and the youth as well with Usman being thirty-eight years old.
But it is that activity that really jumps out of that grouping for me, with Usman only having two fights in the last thirty-three months, which sounds wild and is wild and gets a little scary as you get up there in age.
I still believe Usman's been hard at work, and he has the skills, particularly the wrestling that we saw in Du Plessis' last fight, to make him a certified live dog.
He came through as a live dog for me last time with Joaquin Buckley, but is there enough juice there for me to take him this time?
Well, you're gonna have to check out my in-depth breakdown over at mmajunkie.com for more analysis, stats, and of course, my official pick.
