UFC Oklahoma City DraftKings DFS Preview and Picks
Discover the top DraftKings MMA DFS picks and strategy for UFC Oklahoma City: Du Plessis vs. Usman on Saturday. Build winning lineups with our preview, analysis & fighter breakdowns.
If you're hoping to turn the event into an opportunity to build your DFS bankroll, DraftKings.com has you covered with a full slate of contests, including a $300k UFC Throwdown with $100k to first place. Players get a $50,000 budget to select six fighters, and the scoring rules are noted at the bottom of the column. Let's get to the action...
Main Event - Middleweight
Dricus Du Plessis (23-3-0) v. Kamaru Usman (21-4-0)
DK Salaries: Du Plessis ($9,000), Usman ($7,200)
Vegas Odds: Du Plessis (-230), Usman (+190)
This will be Du Plessis' first fight since last August when he dropped the 185-pound crown to Khamzat Chimaev via a lopsided unanimous decision. It was a terrible performance with absolutely no positives to take from it, but I'm willing to give DDP a pass, as Chimaev was about the worst possible stylistic matchup for him. I expect a better performance here, win or lose.
Usman turned 39 in May and is clearly on the back-nine of his career. He snapped a three-fight losing streak with a unanimous decision victory over Joaquin Buckley last June. I certainly don't love the fact that he took 13-plus months in between fights. This will be just Usman's third bout since October 2023 and his third career fight at middleweight. It's a strange set of circumstances all the way around.
Du Plessis couldn't defend a takedown against Chimaev. He allowed a dozen on 17 attempts for 21:40 worth of control time. Those are truly mind-numbing numbers for a fight which lasted 25 minutes. The crazy thing is that DDP had traditionally displayed solid takedown defense prior to the Chimaev debacle.
Usman is a very good wrestler, and he's very strong, but he's not moving as well as he did back in his heyday, and I see zero reason to believe he can use his grappling to neutralize Du Plessis for the better part of five rounds. A round or maybe two? Sure, but certainly not the vast majority of a fight like Chimaev did.
A good chunk of Du Plessis' success with the UFC has been the result of will and determination. He never quits on himself, and he somehow remains competitive -- even thrives -- despite often looking exhausted out there.
We never got to see that against Chimaev because he was being controlled for 20-plus minutes. Keep in mind that two of DDP's previous three wins before the Khamzat fight were against Sean Strickland. He can put up volume when he needs to, and he's long been an underrated offensive wrestler.
In short, I think he can match Usman most everywhere, and I like his chances of outworking Kamaru even if he loses a round or two as the result of being plastered to the mat.
DDP is nearly seven years younger, and I'm just having a difficult time getting past the recent inactivity of Usman. It's not like he putting in peak performances prior to the long delays between fights.
The DraftKings salaries and betting odds here seem correct. I don't think you're getting any real value on Du Plessis even though I expect him to win. I have enough respect for Usman that I can see him lasting the entire five rounds and remaining semi-competitive throughout. Something like 49-46 or 48-47 in favor of DDP wouldn't shock me.
THE PICK: Du Plessis
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Co-Main Event - Middleweight
Jared Cannonier (18-9-0) v. Christian Leroy Duncan (14-2-0)
DK Salaries: Cannonier ($7,100), Duncan ($9,100)
Vegas Odds: Cannonier (+270), Duncan (-340)
Like Usman, Cannonier is running out of time late in his career. He turned 42 years of age in March and has lost three of four dating back to June 2024. He has just a single win dating back to June 2023. Jared has been fighting quality competition that entire time, and he has, by and large, remained competitive in most of his fights. I don't want to completely write him off just yet, but things are certainly trending in the wrong direction.
Duncan has won four straight fights and six of his last seven. Four of those six wins have come via knockout. That said, his lone setback in that stretch was a unanimous decision loss to Gregory Rodrigues, who just happens to be the only guy Cannonier has beaten in the past three-plus years. This matchup feels like a fair compromise for Duncan, who has fought almost exclusively in either the UFC Apex or on overseas cards over the years.
Cannonier is a true physical specimen for his age. He's not going to push an elite pace for 15 minutes, but he keeps himself in great shape, and I'd be pretty surprised if Duncan -- who is primarily a point kickboxer that stays to the outside -- is able to significantly outwork him.
Both of these guys average less than a single takedown per 15 minutes, and I wouldn't be shocked if we see no grappling in this fight at all.
We should know quite quickly how things are going to go here.
If Cannonier is able to drag CLD into a brawl in which both men are constantly exchanging blows, he should have the edge. If it's a slower pace and the fight is primarily fought at distance, that favors Duncan.
I will say that the UFC has done Duncan a favor here in not matching him up against a wrestler.
He lost to Rodrigues because he gave up four takedowns and 8:20 worth of control time. Cannonier has been known to shoot here and there perhaps in an attempt to steal a closer round, but he's not a volume wrestler by any stretch of the imagination.
The bottom line for me is that I don't see anywhere near a $2,000 gap in salary between these two. Should Duncan be favored given where each man is at in his respective career? Sure, but not at the price in which he is. This is a pure system play in which the value on Cannonier is too much for me to pass on. It could very easily look foolish, but I'll take the chance and hope Jared can use his experience and conditioning to get the job done.
THE PICK: Cannonier
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Lightweight
Chase Hooper (16-5-1) v. Mitch Ramirez (8-3-0)
DK Salaries: Hooper ($9,200), Ramirez ($7,000)
Vegas Odds: Hooper (-355), Ramirez (+280)
Hooper has turned into one of the more inconsistent fighters on the entire roster in short order. He won five straight from May 2023 to April 2025, including three via submission. He has since been knocked out in back-to-back fights against Alexander Hernandez and Lance Gibson. Hernandez has some high-level experience and hits hard, so that one is somewhat defensible. The Gibson setback simply cannot happen. Hooper needs this one in the worst way.
The good news for Chase is that the company appears to be going out of its way to make sure he gets it. Ramirez appeared on Dana White's Contender Series in August 2023 and was knocked out by Carlos Prates. Obviously, he gets a pass there. He went back to LFA and won one fight before getting the call to join the UFC. In two official fights with the company, he's been knocked out by both Thiago Moises and Mike Davis. The 33-year-old has the look and feel of a fighter that made it this far by beating up on inferior competition.
Hooper's striking has improved over the years, although I still wouldn't call it a strength. The numbers are actually quite positive. He lands 4.5 significant strikes per minute while absorbing just 3.02. I'm not crazy about his stand-up defense and get nervous every single time he's sucked into a brawl. That's simply not his game.
Chase is a strong technical fighter with high-level grappling. He averages 2.43 takedowns per minute and has eight career wins via submission. I realize Ramirez has been knocked out in both his UFC bouts, but I still think the safe play for Hooper is to try to get this one to the mat.
Ramirez's grappling is far weaker, so he has virtual no margin for error. I don't see how he will be able to generate consistent offense without putting himself in danger.
Then there's the size difference between the two.
At 5-foot-11, Ramirez isn't a small lightweight. That said, he's giving up two inches in height and five inches in reach to Hooper.
Backing Chase at this price is a huge risk considering his durability is a major question mark, but the same could be said about Ramirez. Hooper has done a nice job in his career of rolling through fringe-roster fighters, and that's essentially what Mitch is until proven otherwise. Hooper is the play even though it doesn't feel great.
THE PICK: Hooper
Women's Strawweight
Tabatha Ricci (12-4-0) v. Fatima Kline (9-1-0)
DK Salaries: Ricci ($6,900), Kline ($9,300)
Vegas Odds: Ricci (+310), Kline (-395)
This was supposed to be Kline and Amanda Ribas before the latter withdrew in mid-June due to spells of dizziness.
Ricci has fallen on hard times of late, alternating losses and wins in her past four fights and sporting a 3-3 mark in her past half-dozen bouts dating back to November 2023. She turned 31 in February, and, by and large, has always won the fights she was expected to (although she's certainly short on "notable" victories). One could argue that her lone UFC win that has aged well was a unanimous decision against Gillian Robertson, and that was back in June 2023.
Kline just turned 26 in July and is legitimately one of the brightest young prospects in female MMA. She made her UFC debut in July 2024 at flyweight, dropping a unanimous decision to a quality opponent in Jasmine Jasudavicius. She has won three straight since, with knockouts of Viktoriia Dudakova and Melissa Martinez, in addition to a unanimous decision win over tenured veteran Angela Hill her last time out. Ricci is no pushover, but if Kline is as good as most people think, this is a fight she should win.
Ricci doesn't throw enough for my personal liking. There were a couple random outliers in which she landed 100-plus significant strikes, but on the whole, she tends to get hit more than she lands.
She's had three fights in her UFC run in which she landed four or more takedowns, but none since March 2023, and they all came against clear lower-end competition.
Kline fights like a bully. She lands a bunch (5.01 significant strikes per minute), rarely gets hit (2.71 significant strikes per minute) and is strong enough to effectively grapple (2.02 takedowns per 15 minutes), even if her technique isn't always the best on her entries.
Most importantly, she seems to be legitimately improving every single time we see her. I certainly can't say that about Ricci.
The five-year age gap between the two doesn't help matters in a weight class typically run by younger talent.
My thinking on this is similar to the co-main event with one major difference. While Kline seems overpriced and I'm not looking to back her, I think in this instance she's the considerably better fighter. I can't say that about Duncan against Cannonier.
THE PICK: Kline
Other Bouts
Featherweight
Tommy McMillen (10-0-0) v. Alberto Montes (12-1-0)
DK Salaries: McMillen ($8,200), Montes ($8,000)
Vegas Odds: McMillen (-125), Montes (+105)
UFC OKC PICK: Montes
Featherweight
Austin Bashi (14-1-0) v. Jose Delgado (11-2-0)
DK Salaries: Bashi ($7,900), Delgado ($8,300)
Vegas Odds: Bashi (-105), Delgado (-115)
UFC OKC PICK: Bashi
Welterweight
Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani (10-2-0) v. Seok Hyeon Ko (13-2-0)
DK Salaries: Lebosnoyani ($7,400), Ko ($8,800)
Vegas Odds: Lebosnoyani (+195), Ko (-240)
UFC OKC PICK: Ko
Light Heavyweight
Levi Rodrigues (5-0-0, 1NC) v. Felipe Franco (10-2-0)
DK Salaries: Rodrigues ($8,600), Franco ($7,600)
Vegas Odds: Rodrigues (-175), Franco (+145)
UFC OKC PICK: Rodrigues
Flyweight
Alden Coria (12-3-0, 1NC) v. Stewart Nicoll (8-3-0)
DK Salaries: Coria ($9,800), Nicoll ($6,400)
Vegas Odds: Coria (-1050), Nicoll (+675)
UFC OKC PICK: Coria
Heavyweight
RJ Harris (5-0-0) v. Alvin Hines (7-1-0)
DK Salaries: Harris ($7,800), Hines ($8,400)
Vegas Odds: Harris (+120), Hines (-140)
UFC OKC PICK: Hines
Women's Flyweight
Anna Melisano (6-1-0) v. Dione Barbosa (9-4-0)
DK Salaries: Melisano ($6,800), Barbosa ($9,400)
Vegas Odds: Melisano (+350), Barbosa (-455)
UFC OKC PICK: Barbosa
Note: All odds accurate as of time of posting, and taken from the DraftKings Sportsbook, if available. Check out DraftKings to bet on MMA Odds and use the DraftKings promo code for a great welcome offer.
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DraftKings MMA Scoring
Note: Scoring has been updated as of early-2021! Please review the scoring changes below.
Moves Scoring
Strikes: +0.2 PTS
Significant Strikes (SS): +0.2 PTS
Control Time: +0.03 PTS/SECOND
Takedown (TD): +5 PTS
Reversal/Sweep (REV): +5 PTS
Knockdown (KD): +10 PTS
Fight Conclusion Bonuses
1st Round Win (1rW+): +90 PTS
2nd Round Win (2rW+): +70 PTS
3rd Round Win (3rW+): +45 PTS
4th Round Win (4rW+): +40 PTS
5th Round Win (5rW+): +40 PTS
Decision Win (WBD+): +30 PTS
Quick Win Bonus: +25 PTS
(fight is finished in 60 seconds or less)
Scoring Notes
- Significant Strikes are any Distance Strike or Clinch/Ground Strikes that are considered "Power Strikes" by official scorers.
- A Significant Strike will count as both a strike and a significant strike and will be worth a total of 0.4 Pts
- Control Time is the time spent in the dominant position on the ground or in the clinch. +0.03 points are awarded per second.
- A Knockdown is awarded to a fighter who knocks his/her opponent down due to debilitation for what the official scorers consider an appreciable amount of time.
- A Quick Win Bonus is awarded to the winning fighter if they win in the first round in 60 seconds or less.
