Du Plessis Grinds Out Usman on the Feet While Hooper Steals the Card With a Slick Choke

UFC Fight Night in Oklahoma City delivered a five-round striking clinic in the main event and a fast rear-naked choke lower on the card, two very different lessons for anyone training grappling near Las Vegas.

A wrestling matchup that turned into a boxing match

Heading into UFC Fight Night at Paycom Arena in Oklahoma City, the Du Plessis versus Usman main event was billed largely around Usman's wrestling pedigree and whether the middleweight champion could handle a former welterweight great looking to change levels. That test never really showed up. Du Plessis controlled the fight from the outside, walking Usman down and cracking him with heavy hooks and knees up the middle rather than chasing takedowns of his own.

All three judges saw it the same way, with scorecards of 50-45, 49-46 and 49-46 after a full five rounds. Du Plessis moves to 24-3-0 with the win, while Usman drops to 21-5-0. Usman found more success in the championship rounds, but by then he was too far behind on the cards to change the outcome.

The submission of the night came lower on the card

While the main event stayed standing, the best grappling highlight of the night belonged to Chase Hooper. Facing Mitch Ramirez, Hooper closed distance early, worked a takedown, and when Ramirez tried to scramble back to his feet, Hooper took the back and sank a rear-naked choke for the tap at 2:15 of round one.

It was Hooper's ninth win inside the Octagon and a needed bounce back after he had dropped his previous two outings to knockouts. For a grappler, the sequence is worth studying on video: the entry, the back take off a failed reversal, and the patience to lock the choke in tight rather than rushing it and losing the position.

The rest of the Oklahoma City card

The co-main saw Christian Leroy Duncan out-work veteran Jared Cannonier for a unanimous decision, while Fatima Kline swept the cards against Tabatha Ricci in a clean strawweight showing. Tommy McMillen closed out his fight with Alberto Montes by third-round TKO. None of those results carried the drama of the main event, but they filled out a card that had something for strikers and grapplers alike.

What it means for grapplers training in Las Vegas

Cards like this are a good gut check for anyone who trains BJJ or no-gi with an eye on MMA. Du Plessis's win is a lesson in footwork, distance management and conditioning over five rounds, skills that live-fire sparring builds far better than solo drilling. Hooper's finish is a textbook back take off a scramble, exactly the kind of transition our mat drills at Las Vegas Jiu Jitsu are built around.

Whether the goal is competing, cross-training for MMA, or just getting in a hard roll after a long week in Las Vegas, watching how top pros solve these positions under pressure is useful homework before you try it live on the mats.

5 grappling and MMA lessons from the July 18 card

A few takeaways worth bringing to your own training after watching the replay.

1. Distance management wins rounds: Du Plessis kept Usman at the end of his strikes for most of five rounds, a striking version of controlling grips before a scramble even starts.
2. Back takes off a scramble: Hooper's finish started with Ramirez trying to reverse a takedown, exactly the moment a well-drilled grappler looks to take the back.
3. Patience before the finish: Hooper did not rush the choke; he secured hooks and control first, which is the difference between a stalled attempt and a clean tap.
4. Cardio still decides close fights: Usman's best round came late, a reminder that five-round conditioning is trained, not assumed.
5. Judges reward output, not just damage: The unanimous scorecards for both Du Plessis and Kline show how consistent work across a round outweighs a single big moment.
6. Recovering from a skid is normal: Hooper's win after two knockout losses is a good reminder that a rough stretch does not define a grappler's ceiling.

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