Cannonier faces Duncan and Holland meets Smith at UFC Oklahoma City on July 18

The UFC has confirmed two significant bouts for its July 18 event at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, pairing former middleweight title challenger Jared Cannonier against rising contender Christian Leroy Duncan and welterweight veteran Kevin Holland against unbeaten prospect Jacobe Smith.

Cannonier (18-9), currently ranked No. 14 in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, enters the fight having lost three of his last four. The 42-year-old most recently dropped a unanimous decision to Michael Page at UFC 319 in August. Duncan (14-2) arrives in sharply contrasting form, riding a four-fight winning streak that included back-to-back spinning knockouts and a unanimous decision over Roman Dolidze at UFC London in March.

In the welterweight matchup, Holland (29-15) brings a busy but inconsistent recent record to the cage. He fought five times in 2025, going 2-3 in that stretch, before rebounding with a unanimous decision win over Randy Brown at UFC 327 in April. Standing across from him will be Smith (12-0), a Dana White’s Contender Series graduate from 2024 who has finished all three of his UFC opponents. His most recent stoppage came against Josiah Harrell at UFC Houston, a performance that earned him a Performance of the Night bonus.

The card’s main event has not been officially announced, though a middleweight bout between former champion Dricus du Plessis and former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has been reported as the targeted headliner.