The UFC Octagon landed in Oklahoma City on Saturday night for a UFC Fight Night event that featured two former champions at the top of a fight card stacked with rising stars of the sport.
Here are our power rankings for the night’s top performers in Oklahoma City.
UFC Oklahoma City Power Rankings
1. Dricus Du Plessis
Dricus Du Plessis arrived in Oklahoma City with a point to prove, and he proved it emphatically. The South African produced an outstanding performance that showcased his improved takedown defence as he outstruck and overpowered former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman over the full five-round distance in Saturday night’s main event.
Du Plessis’s victory means that he’s right back in the championship conversation at 185 pounds, and he made clear exactly what he wants to happen next – a chance to recapture the undisputed middleweight championship.
That could mean a third meeting with Sean Strickland, who currently holds the belt. But with two wins against him already on his record, Du Plessis will be super-confident of completing a hat-trick and capturing the belt once again.
2. Tommy McMillen
Tommy “Gun” McMillen showed up and showed out in Oklahoma City as he delivered a spectacular performance to defeat fellow rising prospect Alberto Montes in their featherweight matchup.
McMillen made full use of his reach advantage as he comprehensively outstruck Montes on the feet to set a new record for significant strikes in a three-round featherweight fight as he eventually stopped his man in the third round to put the seal on a show-stealing performance.
The protege of Sean O’Malley also banked himself a cool $100,000 Performance of the Night bonus, but even more importantly, he made a statement to the UFC that he’s a talented new force in the division.
Daniel Cormier called him “a promoter’s dream. He’s not wrong.
3. Fatima Kline
Fatima Kline faced the toughest test of her fighting career so far, and passed with flying colors to announce her arrival as a new contender in the women’s strawweight division.
Kline faced top-10 contender Tabatha Ricci, and showed that she carried some educated hands in her MMA gloves as she outstruck “Baby Shark” on the feet, then literally tossed her around the Octagon with her eye-catching wrestling.
Her unanimous decision victory has shown that she’s ready for the division’s elite, and her spiky post-fight interview made clear she feels the same way, as she called out everyone in the strawweight top five, including the champion, Mackenzie Dern.
Kline’s next fight is set to be appointment viewing.
4. Christian Leroy Duncan
England’s Christian Leroy Duncan has been steadily refining his game as he’s made his way up the UFC middleweight division, and now he finds himself in rarified air after comprehensively defeating a former title challenger.
Jared Cannonier is tougher than a two-dollar steak, and has been in there with some of the very best in the world at 185 pounds. But for the 15 minutes they shared inside the Octagon, “CLD” showed himself to be the superior fighter as he mixed up his striking to score consistently on the feet, while showing off his ever-improving defensive wrestling to ensure “Tha Killa Gorilla” didn’t trap him on the mat and pound his way to victory.
There are still things to improve – Duncan telegraphed some of his spinning attacks a little too much at times – but his progress has been impressive to watch, and it’ll be really interesting to see how much he’s leveled up when he makes his next appearance inside the Octagon.
5. Chase Hooper
After losing back-to-back fights in the first round, Chase Hooper needed a big bounceback win, and that’s exactly what he got.
After securing an early takedown, Hooper finished Mitch Ramirez via first-round rear-naked choke as he returned to the win column in fine style with a much-needed victory.
Hooper has the physical tools to be a real problem at 185 pounds, but he’s struggled at times to put it all together in the white-hot heat of the Octagon. That wasn’t the case in Oklahoma City, though, as he stepped into the cage and produced a near-perfect performance to seal the 17th win of his career.
