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What's next for Dricus Du Plessis and Kamaru Usman after UFC Oklahoma City?

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What's next for Dricus Du Plessis and Kamaru Usman after UFC Oklahoma City?

The UFC was in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on Saturday for a solid UFC Oklahoma City card. The main event saw former middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis taking on former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in a pivotal fight at middleweight.

Du Plessis was coming off a lopsided loss to Khamzat Chimaev, to lose his middleweight title. Usman, meanwhile, was moving back up to middleweight after he returned to the win column with a decision win over Joaquin Buckley at welterweight last time out.

Ultimately, it was Du Plessis who won a clear-cut decision in a rather lopsided result to return to the win column. Following UFC Oklahoma City, here is what I think should be next for the middleweight contenders.

Dricus Du Plessis

Dricus Du Plessis returned to the win column with a lopsided decision win over Kamaru Usman at UFC Oklahoma City. Du Plessis was able to land the more damaging shots and was able to avoid stuffing Usman's takedown attempts. The South African was dominant from start to finish to prove he's still a legit title contender.

Although Du Plessis has two wins over Sean Strickland, it's likely the champ will face either Nassourdine Imavov or rematch Chimaev next. So, Du Plessis should have to take another fight, and he should headline a Fight Night card later this year against Brendan Allen, with the winner getting a title shot.

Kamaru Usman

Kamaru Usman struggled to deal with Dricus Du Plessis' size and power at middleweight, as a return to welterweight is likely. Usman couldn't get going as he started slowly and was never able to find his groove.

If Usman stays at middleweight, he could get a veteran like Jared Cannonier. Yet, a move back to welterweight makes sense, where the former champ should face Belal Muhammad, and the winner can get back on track, while the loser would become a permanent gatekeeper at 185lbs.

What do you think should be next for Dricus Du Plessis and Kamaru Usman after UFC Oklahoma City?

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UFC 331: Van vs. Pantoja 2, Tsarukyan vs. Ruffy live stream watch party

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UFC 331: Van vs. Pantoja 2, Tsarukyan vs. Ruffy live stream watch party

MMA Fighting has a live stream watch party for Saturday's UFC 331 event at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. In the main event, Joshua Van defends his flyweight title in a rematch against the man he won the championship from, Alexandre Pantoja in a heated rematch.

Join MMA Fighting's Mike Heck and Jed Meshew as they watch the main card and more for the promotion's upcoming numbered event in the City of Angels.

In the co-main event, top lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan faces knockout artist Mauricio Ruffy in a high-stakes, five-round contest.

Additionally, former Bellator champion Patricio Pitbull takes on Doo Ho Choi in the featherweight featured contest, while Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson battles Sean Sharaf in a heavyweight bout.

The UFC 331 main card opens with a light heavyweight tilt between Alonzo Menifield and Iwo Baraniewski.

Watch MMA Fighting's UFC 330 live stream Watch Party beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. PT with the featured preliminary fight between Marlon Vera and Charles Jourdain.

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Anything but Fighting: Edmen Shahbazyan answers random questions

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Anything but Fighting: Edmen Shahbazyan answers random questions

LOS ANGELES — UFC middleweight contender Edmen Shahbazyan joins MMA Fighting's Jose Youngs on #AnythingButFighting to talk about his favorite movies, music, foods, concerts, and more.

Shahbazyan (16-6) is looking to get back into the win column against Brunno Ferreira on the preliminary card of UFC 331. “The Golden Boy†previously dropped a unanimous decision win to Brendan Allen, snapping his three-fight win streak in the process. To date, Shahbazyan holds notable wins over Andre Petroski, André Muniz, Jack Hermansson, Brad Tavares, and Jack Marshman.

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Dana White says Ciryl Gane won’t be promoted to undisputed champion: ‘He’s still got to fight’

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Dana White says Ciryl Gane won’t be promoted to undisputed champion: ‘He’s still got to fight’

Ciryl Gane is NOT the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion.

On Monday, Tom Aspinall vacated his UFC heavyweight title after reinjuring his eyes in training, forcing him out of action indefinitely. As such, many expected that interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane — the man who caused Aspinall's original eye injuries when he poked him during their heavyweight title fight at UFC 321 — would be elevated to undisputed champion and then defend his belt; but not so fast.

“Does it make him the undisputed champion?†White asked when questioned about Gane. “No. He's still got to fight.â€

White added that he expects Gane's next fight, the bout for the title of undisputed champion, will be announced “very soon.â€

Ostensibly, Aspinall could face the winner of whatever that potential bout is, should he be ready to return to action by then. But White has no timeline on when that might be.

“I don't [know],†White said when asked how long Aspinall's will be out for. “Obviously, whenever he feels healthy again, whenever his eyes are healed, then we're ready for him.â€

Gane won the interim heavyweight title with a TKO win over Alex Pereira at UFC White House this summer. It was expected that Gane and Aspinall would unify their titles in a rematch this year, before Aspinall's setback ended those plans.

As for the rest of the heavyweight division, Aspinall's latest update seems to have left the UFC scrambling, with White not having a clear path forward, but saying the UFC will figure it out.

“We'll see how this whole thing plays out with Aspinall,†White said. “Ciryl will fight, and we'll see who becomes the champion. This isn't like this is the first time this has ever happened, and it's happening right now with Valentina Shevchenko, too. This is nothing new. This happens sometimes, and it's unfortunate. Not the best outcome, but it is what it is.â€

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