​Dricus Du Plessis has accused former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman of stalling their upcoming bout. Although Usman and Du Plessis are now set to collide at UFC Oklahoma City on July 18, the challenger contends that “The Nigerian Nightmare” was reluctant to accept the matchup. In the lead-up to the showdown between two former champions, Du Plessis revealed that the UFC had to persuade Usman to sign the contract.
The UFC Oklahoma City main event was announced at the last minute, even though Du Plessis had stated weeks earlier that a fight offer had been made and he was waiting for his opponent to sign. With the headliner finally confirmed, “Stillknocks” explained how the deal came together. “He didn’t want to sign the contract. I know that for a fact,” Du Plessis told Fight Forecast. “I spoke to the UFC, and they said, ‘We finally convinced him to sign.’ If you need convincing to sign, that’s a problem, but I can’t blame him. I wouldn’t want to fight me right now either. It would be the smart move not to sign the fight, but let’s go.”
Even though Usman is a few years removed from his dominant title reign, Du Plessis isn’t ruling out the Nigerian-American’s chances, especially after Usman’s teammate Justin Gaethje recently defeated the younger Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250. “We’ve been discussing the fight for a long time. He mentioned the matchup well before we finalized it, and I said, ‘Cool. I’ll take that fight.’ Some people might ask why I wouldn’t fight [Nassourdine] Imavov, but I’m not concerned with that. I want to face someone who can propel me back toward the title. Kamaru Usman is older, yes, but look at Gaethje’s performance, and that argument can be dismissed.”