Predicting Fight Night Du Plessis vs Usman

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen

Sportz Nation - 7/17/2026

In our UFC 329, which you can find here:

Zak went 4-3 in picks with 2 methods for 6 points.

Matt went 3-4 in picks with 2 methods right for 5 points.

Points To Date:

Zak: 130 (87-49)

Matt: 121 (79-57)

*All odds courtesy of Caesar's Sportsbook on 7/16

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Graphic by UFC via wikipedia.org

2Dricus Du Plessis vs

9Kamaru Usman

(Du Plessis -225)

Zak Drapeau -

Kamaru Usman may be the most unpredictable fighter on the roster at this point and that goes double now that he’s moving up to Middleweight. It’s crazy to think Usman hasn’t been champion in just under 4 years and is 39-years old now, but has Father time really caught up to him? His last win against Buckley a year ago was a good showing but the jump to DDP at Middleweight is definitely a big one.

Meanwhile, DDP is having his first non-title fight in 3 years and I have a feeling he’s looking to make an example of Usman. DDP’s wrestling may not have been good enough to stop Chimaev but it should be up to snuff against Usman, at least enough to keep the fight standing. With these two exchanging strikes for 5 rounds, I have a feeling Usman will eventually get cracked by DDP and as much as we’ll all hate to see it, go down somewhere in the championship rounds.

Prediction Du Plessis by TKO

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10Jared Cannonier vs

12Christian Leroy Duncan

(Duncan -360)

Zak Drapeau - Alright I really don’t mean to be rude and I respect the hell out of everyone with the balls to step into the cage… but Cannonier is still in the UFC??? Not to make light of a great story for Cannonier’s 11-year UFC career that’s spanned 3 different divisions but he’s 42-years old now and has lost 3 of his last 4. Then again, his only win in that span is coincidentally the only man CLD has lost to in over 3 years.

Since losing to RoboCop in 2023 though, CLD has been proving that he is one of the best Middleweights in the world. 2 knockout wins and 2 dominant showings of his kickboxing has landed him a shot in the Top-10 of the division and against an aging veteran like Cannonier seems very juicy for him. CLD showed a big hole in his game last fight when Dolidze controlled him on the ground for half the fight but against a guy like Cannonier who is willing to stand and bang, I have CLD comfortably in a fight where we will probably see Cannonier leave his gloves behind.

Prediction: Duncan by Decision

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8Tabatha Ricci vs

11Fatima Kline

(Kline -480)

Zak Drapeau -

Fatima Kline is one of my favorite prospects in the entire UFC and her time isn’t coming anymore, it’s now! She came into the UFC at only 24-years old with a solid kickboxing background and showed in her last fight that her wrestling has improved so much too!

Baby Shark Ricci is a great opponent for Kline at this point in her career and has only lost to some of the very best Flyweights in the world. Ricci will strand and bang for the most part and uses her judo and BJJ background to keep the fight standing which should work against Kline. Either way though whether the fight stays on the feet or goes to the ground, I think this fight ends with Kline’s hand raised once again and a future Top-5 fight down the road.

Prediction: Kline by Decision

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Tommy McMillen vs

Alberto Montes

(McMillen -150)

Zak Drapeau -

Tommy Gun McMillen is a REALLY interesting fighter on his way up in the Lightweight division and the fact he’s only -150 is JUUUUUUUICY. Not only has he had 9 1st-round finishes in his 10 fights by both TKO and submissions, but he is very big for the division and has a 5-inch height and reach advantage in this fight.

Alberto Santos is nothing to be scoffed at and apparently is really liked by oddsmakers. His black belt in jiu jitsu has been evident in all of his last 5 wins coming by submission and has shown impressive progression in his stand up over those fights as well. McMillen may use his wrestling to try and control Montes but any fight that goes to the ground has a SERIOUS chance of ending by Montes’ hands.

This is a really good fight for the future of Lightweights but I have to go with McMillen’s size and violence advantage and I’m going to predict he continues his 1st-round streak as well.

Prediction: McMillen by TKO

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Austin Bashi vs

Jose Delgado

(Pick 'Em)

Zak Drapeau -

This fight has another huge size advantage, this time for Jose Delgado. This fight is also a huge jump up for Austin Bashi who came into the UFC at only 22-years old with an exceptional jiu jitsu background but was promptly slowed down in a war with Christian Rodriguez last year. Since then he got his first UFC win with a choke and looks to regain his momentum against one of the top contenders outside of the Top-15 this weekend.

Jose Delgado has been in the UFC for just over a year and is already 3-1 with a win over Andre Fili in his last fight but his entire gameplan this weekend will center around if he can stop Bashi’s takedowns. Pure and simple, Delgado wins if the fight stays standing and Bashi wins if it goes down and I actually am changing my tune and believe Bashi will be able to get him down and actually finish him in relatively short time.

Prediction: Bashi by Submission

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Seokhyeon Ko vs

Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani

(Ko -195)

Zak Drapeau -

This fight is “The Korean Tyson” versus “Mufasa” and I just have to mention that because it may be the coolest nickname matchup of all time. SeokHyeon Ko is the favorite and despite his boxing-type of nickname, this guy has some really great wrestling I believe we’ll see on full display.

Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani is no slouch in wrestling either and is on a 5-fight win streak from LFA and UFC coming into this one. He has a very all-around game inside the cage and will be a very good Welterweight in the UFC but with both up and comers with win streaks set to do battle, only one can extend their streak and I think Korean Tyson has Lebosnoyani's number on the ground and on the feet... but just barely.

Prediction: Ko by Decision

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