7 months ago
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Brett OkamotoJun 15, 2025, 01:59 AM ET
- Brett Okamoto has reported connected mixed martial arts and boxing astatine ESPN since 2010. He has covered each of the biggest events successful combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names specified arsenic Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was besides a shaper connected the 30 for 30 film: "Chuck and Tito," which looked backmost astatine the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives successful Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer successful his spare time.
There was nary UFC loop astir his waist astatine the extremity of the night, but Kamaru Usman looked a batch similar his aged aforesaid connected Saturday night.
Usman (21-4) picked up his archetypal triumph successful much than 3 years astatine UFC Fight Night successful Atlanta, arsenic helium defeated Joaquin Buckley (21-7) by unanimous determination successful their welterweight main event. All 3 judges scored the bout for Usman, via scores of 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47. It was Usman's archetypal triumph since November 2021 and snapped a three-fight losing streak.
"It's been a while," Usman said arsenic helium struggled to power his emotions successful the postfight interview. "I needed to get that monkey disconnected my back. I cognize I'm inactive capable to bash this astatine the highest level. ... I expected him to beryllium truly tough, which helium was. He's a precise talented guy. I amusement emotion and respect to each of these guys due to the fact that I cognize what it takes to enactment and get here."
A erstwhile welterweight champion and No. 1 pound-for-pound candidate, Usman, 38, came disconnected a 20-month layoff to look Buckley connected Saturday. He relied heavy connected his collegiate wrestling background, peculiarly done the archetypal 4 rounds. He took Buckley down successful each of the archetypal 4 rounds and had precise small trouble keeping him connected his backmost and racking up offense.
Everything astir changed successful the past round, arsenic Usman started to slice and telegraph his shots. According to UFC Stats, helium went 4-of-7 connected takedowns attempts successful the archetypal 4 rounds and past 0-for-6 successful the last 5 minutes. Buckley, 31, came connected beardown and appeared to wounded him with winging hooks and uppercuts. Usman's acquisition paid disconnected though, and helium managed to debar the large shot.
The nonaccomplishment snapped Buckley's six-fight winning streak. Four of those six wins had travel via knockout.
"I'm gonna beryllium honest, I'm conscionable gladsome to beryllium successful this Octagon with idiosyncratic who is known arsenic 1 of the best," Buckley said. "For america to spell 5 rounds and enactment connected an astonishing fight, I'm conscionable truthful happy. I've travel a agelong mode to spot maine here. This ain't gonna beryllium the end. We conscionable getting started."
Before his three-fight skid, Usman enactment unneurotic 1 of the top runs successful UFC history. He was connected his mode to a sixth rubric defence successful August 2022, erstwhile Leon Edwards caught him with a devastating caput footwear successful the 5th circular of their rubric fight. Usman went connected to suffer to Edwards again successful an contiguous rematch and past dropped a determination to Khamzat Chimaev successful a short-notice contention astatine middleweight.
His show astatine State Farm Arena against Buckley was vintage Usman from the precise start. He took Buckley down successful the opening minute, established power and opened a tiny chopped adjacent Buckley's close oculus with elbows. The pursuing rounds were fundamentally a rinse-and-repeat effort of the first, though Buckley deserved recognition for maintaining his composure and cardio down the stretch.
The effect is thing of a shakeup for the 170-pound division, with Usman defeating Buckley arsenic a important betting underdog. He present finds himself a morganatic enactment for the victor of a welterweight rubric combat betwixt Jack Della Maddalena and Islam Makhachev, which is expected to instrumentality spot aboriginal this year.
In the co-main event, erstwhile strawweight champion Rose Namajunas (14-7) improved to 3-2 arsenic a flyweight aft defeating Miranda Maverick (15-5) via unanimous decision. The judges scored it 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.
The matchup played retired precise choky connected the feet, but Namajunas utilized respective cardinal takedowns to power Maverick connected the crushed and prime up the win.
Namajunas's grounds astatine 125 pounds mightiness not look title-challenger worthy, but her lone losses person travel against the precise apical of the part successful Manon Fiorot and Erin Blanchfield.
