The former 170-pound king and pound-for-pound star hadn’t won a fight since 2021, and headed into his main event matchup with in-form Buckley on a three-fight skid and, in a rarity, he was the betting underdog with the oddsmakers.
But, despite the question marks over his status as a top welterweight, Usman stepped into the Octagon and produced an excellent performance to put himself right back in the mix at 170 pounds.
Also on the night, there was a big win for Rose Namajunas, while on the preliminary card, there was a controversial moment as Paul Craig’s return to light heavyweight ended in bizarre circumstances when his bout with Rodolfo Bellato ended in a no contest, with some observers accusing the Brazilian of faking a knockout in an attempt to claim a victory via disqualification.
Across the pond, there was a huge stadium show in Europe as OKTAGON MMA hosted a huge event, OKTAGON 72, in front of 26,000 fans at Eden Stadium in Prague, Czech Republic.
On The RDX Sports Podcast this week…
On this week’s episode of the RDX Sports Podcast, editor-in-chief Simon Head looks back at the big talking points from UFC Atlanta, then recaps a great night of fights at OKTAGON 72. He then takes a look ahead to the action set for next weekend at UFC Baku, including a dynamite light heavyweight main event between former champion Jamahal Hill and former title challenger – and RDX Sports ambassador – Khalil Rountree Jr.
Subscribe to The RDX Sports Podcast
Don’t forget you can subscribe to The RDX Sports Podcast via the RDX Sports YouTube channel, while audio versions of the pod are also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
