It’s been nearly two years since we’ve seen former welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman fight inside the octagon. His last fight was against the unbeaten Khamzat Chimaev, who he nearly beat, but ultimately came up short losing via majority decision. Chimaev, who is next in line for the middleweight title, previously said that Usman was the hardest fight oh his MMA career, and for us fans, it was certainly a treat to see the best of the best going at it. Now, Usman will be making his return to the octagon for the first time since October of 2023, and it will be against Joaquin Buckley, at UFC Fight, on June 14, 2025.
Usman is coming off of three consecutive losses, once against Chimaev and twice against Leon Edwards who’s been in a downward slope of his own lately. The Nigerian’s last win was going up against Colby Covington, who he beat in November of 2021, at UFC 268. Since then Usman lost his welterweight belt, and has yet to get back into the winning column. Meanwhile, Buckley has been on a 6-fight win streak, and has been continuously making strides to put himself in the top-5 contenders for the welterweight belt. Buckley is 21-6-0 in his MMA career, and is currently ranked 7th in his division.
Many doubt Usman’s chances going into the fight, as it is believed that he is out of touch, hasn’t fought in over a year, and is 37 years of age which doesn’t do him any favors. Recently, Usman decided to fire back on all the naysayers, and this is what he said.
Ian Garry, who is just 2 spots down from the No 4. ranked Kamaru Usman, believes that Usman is going to get outclassed at UFC Fight Night next month as he stated, “I don’t think Joaquin Buckley just beats Usman, I think he demolishes him. He will run through Usman.”
Din Thomas, who is a former MMA fighter, also shared his thoughts on Usman’s chances against Buckley and he said, “(Buckley is) more than anything else, hungry for the opportunity. He’s hungry to show what he can do. You’ve got a guy like Kamaru Usman, who is not really that hungry because he’s already been fed. He ate already. He’s just trying to get seconds. He’s older. I don’t know. I don’t see it.”
When Henry Cejudo asked for Usman’s response to all this, the former welterweight champ said, “This is just adding fuel to the fire. This is extra motivation. Sometimes it takes people to count you out enough for you to go in there and say ‘Okay, I’ll show you…’ These guys who are coming in to compete against me, anything they say, do, can, will be used against them inside that octagon… I am the judge, I am the jury, and in that cage I can also be the executioner. It’s my job to go in there and show them that ‘eh, you don’t eat until big man eats first,’ and I am that big man. So let me eat again, and again, and again, and when I’m done eating, then these guys can come eat some… Right now, I’m still hungry.”
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