UFC Fight Night 281 live updates: Usman vs Du Plessis start time, TV
· Yahoo Sports
Earlier this week, Kamaru Usman dubbed himself as a "moneyweight fighter."
The 39-year-old is a former UFC champion and considered one of the greatest welterweights of all time in the sport.
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But at this stage of his career, the motivation is different and he isn't picky about weight classes.
“I’m a moneyweight fighter now, so hey, if it’s up at welterweight, I’ll do it,” Usman said. “If it’s up at middleweight, I’ll do it. If it’s up at light heavyweight, I might do it.”
Light heavyweight might be a slight stretch, but middleweight isn’t, and that’s what he’ll compete at when he faces a former champion in that class in Dricus Du Plessis for UFC Fight Night 281 on Saturday night at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
Follow along for live updates from UFC Fight Night 281:
Watch UFC Fight Night 281 live with Paramount+
How to watch Kamaru Usman vs Dricus Du Plessis at UFC Fight Night OKC
- Date: Saturday, July 18
- Venue: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City
- Prelims start: 4 p.m. CT
- Main fight card: 7 p.m. CT (watch live on Paramount+)
Official weigh-in results
Chase Hooper will be forced to forfeit 20% of his purse to his opponent, Mitch Ramirez, for weighing 1.5 pounds over the lightweight cap.
Ezra Elliot was the only other fighter who weighed over his limit as he was 1.5 pounds more than his featherweight cutoff.
Here’s a full look at the weigh-in results.
Main card
Main event (middleweight): Dricus Du Plessis (185.5) vs. Kamaru Usman (186)
Co-main event (middleweight): Jared Cannonier (185) vs. Christian Leroy Duncan (185.5)
Lightweight: Chase Hooper (157.5) vs. Mitch Ramirez (155.5)
Women’s strawweight: Tabatha Ricci (116) vs. Fatima Kline (115.5)
Featherweight: Tommy McMillen (146) vs. Alberto Montes (146)
Prelims
Featherweight: Austin Bashi (145) vs. Jose Miguel Delgado (146)
Welterweight: Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani (171) vs. SeokHyeon Ko (169)
Light Heavyweight: Levi Rodrigues (206) vs. Felipe Franco (205)
Flyweight: Alden Coria (126) vs. Stewart Nicoll (126)
Heavyweight: RJ Harris (262.5) vs. Alvin Hines (264)
Women’s Flyweight: Anna Melisano (126) vs. Dione Barbosa (125)
Featherweight: Ezra Elliott (147.5) vs. Damien Anderson (146)
Oklahoma City UFC Fight Night 281 odds
Odds courtesy of BetMGM on Saturday, July 18:
Dricus Du Plessis vs. Kamaru Usman
- Dricus Du Plessis (-250)
- Kamaru Usman (+200)
Jared Canonnier vs. Christian Leroy Duncan
- Christian Leroy Duncan (-400)
- Jared Cannonier (+310)
Chase Hooper vs. Mitch Ramirez
- Chase Hooper (-375)
- Mitch Ramirez (+300)
Tommy McMillen vs. Alberto Montes
- Alberto Montes (+145)
- Tommy McMillen (-180)
How to buy UFC Fight Night: Du Plessis vs. Usman tickets
UFC Fight Night: Du Plessis vs. Usman tickets can be found on Ticketmaster starting at $123.70 for upper sections.
VIP tickets, closer to the ring, can cost over $2,000, while non-VIP tickets around the same area are cheaper, but still around $1,000.
When was the last UFC fight in Oklahoma?
The last fight in Oklahoma City was a UFC Fight Night in 2017 between Kevin Lee and Michael Chiesa.
In 2009, OKC hosted UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Guillard at the Cox Convention Center.
Tulsa has also hosted a pair of UFC events, including UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. dos Anjos at the BOK Center in 2014 and UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors in 1994.
There were plans for a fight in Oklahoma City in 2020, but it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
What is UFC?
UFC stands for Ultimate Fighting Championship and is considered the premier mixed martial arts organization.
In UFC fights, two athletes compete inside an eight-sided fenced cage, called the Octagon, for three (non-title fights) or five five-minute rounds. Judges score on a 10-point system based on effective striking, grappling, aggression and Octagon control.
A fight can end in several ways: a knockout, a technical knockout, submission (when a fighter taps out or is locked into a painful position), or Judges' Decision.
Restrictions include strikes to the back of the head, eye-gouging and the groin.
Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @nicksardis. Sign up for The Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Nick's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: UFC Fight Night 281 live updates: Usman vs Du Plessis start time, TV