About 20 months after his last fight, former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman finally finds himself back in the win column, looking like his old self against rising contender Joaquin Buckley in the main event of UFC Atlanta.
Usman looked like his vintage self in the opening frame, scoring a takedown of Buckley early and dominating the rest of the first round from the top position. Usman continued this strategy in the second round, taking Buckley down again and making him feel the hurt with his strikes, busting Buckley open around one of his eyes.
Buckley looked to get things going in the third round, landing a couple of cracking blows on Usman. But at the halfway point of the round, Usman did what he does best and took Buckley down once more, placing him right up against the cage. Despite Buckley's best efforts, Usman kept him held down and did work with his punching, continuing to land on Buckley's head. Buckley tried to get things going again in the fourth with his strikes; however, once again, Usman found a takedown a few minutes into the round -- and that was all he needed to control the pace.
Buckley showed more signs of life in the fifth round, unleashing power knowing that he needed a finish. Buckley's takedown defense suddenly improved as well, defending six straight takedown attempts. Buckley tried to pressure, but it wasn't enough.
Two judges scored the fight 49-46 and a third 48-47 -- all for Usman.
Kamaru Usman Wins First Fight In Nearly Two Years, Defeats Joaquin Buckley At UFC Atlanta
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This marked Usman's first fight since his short-notice middleweight bout with Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294. He had lost three straight fights, with his last win coming in his UFC 268 title defense against Colby Covington.
Buckley sees a six-fight win streak snapped with tonight's defeat.