Ernest Osogbue
Kamaru Usman dominated Joaquin Buckley from the opening to the closing bell in a five round masterclass at UFC fight night in Atlanta, USA.
Needing to bounce back from three consecutive defeats, and a first victory since 2021, Usman, the ‘Nigerian Nightmare,’ was in good form taking the fight to Buckley, who was on six match winning streak.
Usman kept Buckley on the back foot throughout the bout in a completely one-sided affair. He landed 127 of 217 strikes, compared to Buckley, who landed only 28 of 94 strikes. Usman also made 31 of 74 significant strkes against his opponent, who scored 24 of 90 significant strikes. Usman was equally successful in 4 of 7 take down attempts, with Buckley coming short with no take down attempts.
At the end of five battling rounds, Usman got the victory with his lead on all the judges’ cards, 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47, for a unanimous victory. It is interesting to note that Usman has been out of the octagon since October 2023, when he lost a short notice fight to Khamzat Chimaev.
A fight against current UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis of South Africa could be on the cards in the not too distant future is Usman keeps up the impressive performance.
