Former long-reigning 170-pound champion Usman headed into his main event bout with in-form Buckley on a three-fight skid, and was the betting underdog. But “The Nigerian Nightmare” made a mockery of those odds as he defeated his hard-hitting opponent via unanimous decision, with the judges scoring the fight 49-46, 49-46, 48-47.
It marked Usman’s return to form after a near two-year layoff following successive losses to Leon Edwards (twice) and Khamzat Chimaev, and the 38-year-old was clearly emotional when he gave his immediate post-fight thoughts following the verdict on Saturday night at State Farm Arena.
“It’s been a while,” he admitted.
“I needed to get that monkey off my back. I know I’m still able to do this at the highest level. Sometimes when you’re going up against a young, hungry guy like that, very talented, very aggressive, you got to pull out the skills and use your experience, and that’s what I did tonight.
“I wanted to open up a little bit more, but that comes with time, so I feel good. I expected him to be really, really tough, which he was. He’s a very talented guy. I show love and respect to all of these guys because I know what it takes to work and get here.”
Usman then turned his thoughts to the rest of the welterweight contenders as he issued a warning to his rivals at the top of the 170-pound division.
“I could do that to anybody, any one of them,” he said.
“But, like I said, I needed to get that monkey off my back. 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.
“I had a lot of emotions coming into this one. Like I said, it’s been a long time, a lot of emotions, a lot of things that I had to battle back from. I’m holding back. I’m holding back all the emotions. Unfortunately, my daughter couldn’t be here with me tonight. That’s another long story, but man, I just want to say thank-you to everybody. Thank you to my family, my coaches, who kept me going. Buckley, for bringing the challenge – respect.
“And, the rest of the welterweight division, listen, I have been, and always will be, the f*****g boogeyman!”
UFC Atlanta: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Kamaru Usman def. Joaquin Buckley via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
- Rose Namajunas def. Miranda Maverick via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Edmen Shahbazyan def. Andre Petroski via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Raoni Barcelos def. Cody Garbrandt via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Mansur Abdul-Malik def. Cody Brundage via technical decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) – Round 3, 0:36
- Alonzo Menifield def. Oumar Sy via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Paul Craig vs Rodolfo Bellato ruled a no contest (accidental illegal upkick) – Round 1, 4:59
- Michael Chiesa def. Court McGee via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Malcolm Wellmaker def. Kris Moutinho via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 2:37
- Jose Ochoa def. Cody Durden via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 0:11
- Ricky Simon def. Cameron Smotherman via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Phil Rowe def. Ange Loosa via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 4:02
- Jamey-Lyn Horth def. Vanessa Demopoulos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
