UFC welterweight champ Islam Makhachev shared his prediction for the UFC Oklahoma City main event between Dricus du Plessis and Kamaru Usman.
Du Plessis and Usman meet tonight in the headliner of UFC Oklahoma City. Du Plessis is a sizeable favorite to win the fight, and despite Makhachev being under the same management group as Usman, the UFC welterweight champion believes that the odds are correct.
Islam Makhachev Says Dricus du Plessis Defeats Kamaru Usman at UFC OKC
Speaking to Murad Machaev in a recent interview, Makhachev said he is picking du Plessis to beat Usman tonight at UFC Oklahoma City.
“It’s going to be a tough fight. He’ll probably try to wrestle… To be honest, I think du Plessis wins. Usman’s knees are bad, he can’t wrestle constantly,” Makhachev said (via Bloody Elbow).
The latest betting odds agree with Makhachev. Right now, with the fight just hours away, du Plessis is a -200 favorite, with Usman as a +175 underdog. The odds have been steadily going down all week, but du Plessis will still enter the fight as the favorite.
Islam Makhachev Says Kamaru Usman Making Smart Risk
Even though Makhachev is picking du Plessis to beat Usman at UFC OKC, he thinks that Usman is making a smart risk here by moving up to to middleweight because, if he does pull off the upset, then it could land him a title shot against UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland, whom Usman already has a win over in 2017 when they both fought at welterweight.
“Kamaru Usman made a smart move, I was wondering why he moved up but if he beats Du Plessis he’ll become the next title contender because he already has a win over Sean Strickland, that’s why he decided to take the risk,” Makhachev said.
Ultimately, we’ll see if this risk is worth it for Usman, as this is not going to be an easy fight. But if he can wrestle consistently and take du Plessis down to the ground and control him on the mat, then perhaps he will have a good chance to pull off the upset.
Islam Makhachev Predicts Dricus du Plessis vs. Kamaru Usman