Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman returned to winning ways after a 20-month hiatus, defeating Joaquin Buckley 49-46, 49-46, 48-47 in a unanimous decision in the main event at UFC Fight Night in Atlanta.
“Those knockouts will come,” an emotional Usman said after his win. “I just needed to get that monkey off my back.”
The first two rounds of the headline welterweight attraction saw Usman (win-loss record of 21-4 in MMA) pitch the equivalent of a shutout, effortlessly taking Buckley (win-loss record of 21-7 in MMA) down and utilising his ground-and-pound to outstrike the St Louis, US, native 16-0 in the significant strikes category.
Round 3 started strong for Buckley, 31, as he found his striking range before Usman achieved his third takedown in four attempts.
Round 4 was primarily on the feet, as Buckley landed his best combinations of the fight but could not secure a comeback finish. Usman took Buckley down again, securing the back mount position as the round ended.
Round 5 saw both men trade blows, but it was too little, too late for Buckley, who had a six-fight unbeaten streak snapped. It was Usman’s first win since he held the title in November 2021.
Buckley was gracious in defeat, suffering his first loss at welterweight.
“We’re just getting started, baby,” Buckley said. “We’ll be back.”
Usman, 38, who from 2019-2021 mounted five successful welterweight title defenses and was one of the UFC’s most highest-profile fighters, called for a title shot at his former weight class following the statement win.
“I know I’m still able to do this at the highest level,” Usman said.
“I could do that to anybody [in the welterweight division], any one of them… I was able to open up, and you guys saw those spectacular knockouts. I still got them in there.”
In the co-main event, former two-time strawweight champion Rose Namajunas earned a highly competitive unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 over Miranda Maverick.
In middleweight, Edmen Shahbazyan nearly finished Andre Petroski with a would-be third-round total knockout before walking away with a unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28. The win marked Shahbazyan’s first stretch of back-to-back wins since 2019, his first decision win since 2018.
The UFC’s schedule goes international with a Fight Night instalment a week from Saturday in Azerbaijan, headlined by a light heavyweight non-championship five-rounder between former champion Jamahal Hill (12-3 MMA) and ex-title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr (14-6 MMA).
