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Brett Okamoto
There was no UFC belt round his waist on the finish of the evening, however Kamaru Usman seemed lots like his outdated self on Saturday evening.
Usman (21-4) picked up his first win in additional than three years at UFC Combat Night time in Atlanta, as he defeated Joaquin Buckley (21-7) by unanimous choice of their welterweight essential occasion. All three judges scored the bout for Usman, by way of scores of 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47. It was Usman’s first victory since November 2021 and snapped a three-fight dropping streak.
“It has been some time,” Usman stated as he struggled to regulate his feelings within the postfight interview. “I wanted to get that monkey off my again. I do know I am nonetheless ready to do that on the highest stage. … I anticipated him to be actually robust, which he was. He is a really proficient man. I present love and respect to all of those guys as a result of I do know what it takes to work and get right here.”
A former welterweight champion and No. 1 pound-for-pound candidate, Usman, 38, got here off a 20-month layoff to face Buckley on Saturday. He relied closely on his collegiate wrestling background, notably by the primary 4 rounds. He took Buckley down in every of the primary 4 rounds and had little or no issue maintaining him on his again and racking up offense.
All the pieces practically modified within the final spherical, as Usman began to fade and telegraph his pictures. In accordance with UFC Stats, he went 4-of-7 on takedowns makes an attempt within the first 4 rounds after which 0-for-6 within the closing 5 minutes. Buckley, 31, got here on sturdy and appeared to harm him with winging hooks and uppercuts. Usman’s expertise paid off although, and he managed to keep away from the massive shot.
The loss snapped Buckley’s six-fight profitable streak. 4 of these six wins had come by way of knockout.
“I am gonna be trustworthy, I am simply glad to be on this Octagon with somebody who is called top-of-the-line,” Buckley stated. “For us to go 5 rounds and placed on an incredible struggle, I am simply so comfortable. I’ve come a protracted approach to see me right here. This ain’t gonna be the top. We simply getting began.”
Earlier than his three-fight skid, Usman put collectively one of many best runs in UFC historical past. He was on his approach to a sixth title protection in August 2022, when Leon Edwards caught him with a devastating head kick within the fifth spherical of their title struggle. Usman went on to lose to Edwards once more in a direct rematch after which dropped a call to Khamzat Chimaev in a short-notice contest at middleweight.
His efficiency at State Farm Enviornment in opposition to Buckley was classic Usman from the very begin. He took Buckley down within the opening minute, established management and opened a small lower close to Buckley’s proper eye with elbows. The next rounds had been basically a rinse-and-repeat effort of the primary, though Buckley deserved credit score for sustaining his composure and cardio down the stretch.
The result’s one thing of a shakeup for the 170-pound division, with Usman defeating Buckley as a big betting underdog. He now finds himself a professional possibility for the winner of a welterweight title struggle between Jack Della Maddalena and Islam Makhachev, which is predicted to happen later this 12 months.
Within the co-main occasion, former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas (14-7) improved to 3-2 as a flyweight after defeating Miranda Maverick (15-5) by way of unanimous choice. The judges scored it 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.
The matchup performed out very tight on the ft, however Namajunas used a number of key takedowns to regulate Maverick on the bottom and choose up the win.
Namajunas’s document at 125 kilos may not look title-challenger worthy, however her solely losses have come in opposition to the very prime of the division in Manon Fiorot and Erin Blanchfield.