Usman dominates Buckley at UFC Atlanta for 1st win since 2021

Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman put on a vintage performance against Joaquin Buckley.

Usman dominated Buckley en route to a unanimous decision win in the UFC Atlanta main event Saturday night at State Farm Arena. The judges scored the fight 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47.

Usman secured his first victory since 2021 and snapped a three-fight losing streak.

"It feels good," Usman said in his postfight interview. "It's been a while. I needed to get that monkey off my back. I know I'm still able to do this at the highest level."

The 38-year-old relied on his wrestling and tremendous fight IQ to deliver a one-sided showing against Buckley. He completed four takedowns and suffocated his opponent on the ground for long stretches, compiling 12:57 of control time.

"Sometimes when you're going up against a young, hungry guy like that - very talented, very aggressive - you gotta pull out the skills and use your experience. And that's what I did tonight," Usman said. "I wanted to open up a little bit more, but that comes with time."

Usman started strong, scoring a takedown one minute into the fight. He applied a lot of pressure and didn't give Buckley any space to move. Usman landed some ground-and-pound late in the frame, opening up a cut underneath Buckley's eye with an elbow.

Usman controlled the center of the Octagon to start Round 2 and then effortlessly took Buckley down again two minutes in. He stayed busy on top, landing punches and trying to advance position.

In the third round, Buckley landed a few solid punches on the feet before Usman got him back on the ground midway through. Usman advanced to full mount in the final seconds of the round.

Usman and Buckley had some competitive exchanges in the stand-up department early in the fourth round. But then, three minutes in, Usman landed another takedown and bullied Buckley against the fence.

Buckley rallied hard in the fifth round in search of a come-from-behind knockout. He outstruck Usman 20-10 in significant strikes and stopped all six takedown attempts. Buckley caught Usman with a glancing head kick and continued to press forward, landing punches. Buckley clipped the former champion with a big left hook late in the round. But Usman got on his bicycle and made it to the end of the fight, comfortably winning on the judges' scorecards.

Usman stepped into the Octagon for the first time since October 2023 when he lost to Khamzat Chimaev in a short-notice middleweight bout at UFC 294. "The Nigerian Nightmare" hadn't been victorious since a welterweight title defense against Colby Covington at UFC 268 in November 2021.

Usman is widely considered one of the top 170-pound fighters in MMA history. He defended the title five times between 2019-2021 before dropping the belt to Leon Edwards in 2022. Usman is currently ranked No. 5 in the division.

Back in title contention, Usman promised to deliver more knockouts in the future.

"Like I said, I needed to get that monkey off my back," Usman reiterated. "Early on in my career as I was rolling, once I had that monkey off my back and I knew I was rolling, I was able to open up, and you guys saw those spectacular knockouts. I still got them in there. ... Those knockouts will come. The next one, whoever it is for that title, I'mma see about you."

Buckley's six-fight winning streak came to an end. This marked the 31-year-old's first loss since December 2022, as well as his first since dropping down to the welterweight division. Buckley was ranked No. 7 coming into Saturday's main event.

Usman finished his postfight interview with a message aimed at his fellow welterweights.

"The rest of the welterweight division, listen: I have been, and always will be, the f-----g boogeyman," Usman said.