Kamaru Usman secured a unanimous decision victory over Joaquin Buckley in their UFC main event fight at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Sunday morning.
The 38-year-old former UFC welterweight champion scored 49-46, 49-46, 48-47 on all three judges’ scorecards to secure a surprise victory over the on-form challenger.
The victory ended a run of three consecutive defeats for the former five-time defending champion.
It also ended a run of defeat that started in 2021, tasting victory for the first time in almost four years.
Usman, who had been off the arena for 20 months, showed the packed venue why he was widely considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in UFC.
He executed a takedown on Buckley in each of the first four rounds to draw his opponent in multiple top control and ground-and-pound hits during the keenly contested fight.
He edged the American 137-51 edge in total strikes, and had 13 minutes of control time throughout the fight.
Defeat was a first in six matches for Buckley who had little success on the night.
“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’ve got to pull out the skills and use your experience — and that’s what I did tonight,” said the Nigerian-American after the win.
“I know it’s a running joke, ‘Oh, his knees, his knees.’ Well, I can still do what I do, [and] I could do that to anybody [in the welterweight division], any one of them.”
Usman’s record improved to 16 wins and three defeats on the UFC circuit.
