Latest news with #KhamzatChimaev
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kamaru Usman fights back tears after beating Joaquin Buckley to earn first UFC win since 2021
Kamaru Usman fought back tears on Saturday after overcoming Joaquin Buckley in Atlanta, a result that marked his first UFC win since 2021. Usman, who retained the welterweight title five times during a three-year reign, used his wrestling prowess to dominate Buckley for four rounds, before surviving a fifth-round scare to earn a unanimous-decision win. Advertisement The scorecards read 49-46, 49-46, 48-47 in Usman's favour, as the Nigerian-American snapped a three-fight losing streak. In doing so, he also broke Buckley's six-fight winning run. Usman had last scored a victory in November 2021, outpointing old rival Colby Covington in his final successful title defence. Then, in August 2022, he was en route to a comfortable decision win over Leon Edwards before succumbing to a dramatic, late knockout. Usman, who previously outpointed Edwards in 2015, lost their trilogy bout on points in 2023, failing to regain the 170lb title. Then, in October 2023, he stepped in to face the unbeaten Khamzat Chimaev on short notice. In what was Usman's middleweight debut, he performed admirably but lost via decision. Usman, 38, returned to welterweight to face the in-form Buckley on Saturday (14 June), where he defied his doubters with an impressive performance, which gave way to an emotional post-fight interview. Advertisement 'It feels good,' he said in the cage. 'It's been a while, 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've got to pull out the skills and use the experience. Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman (Getty Images) 'That's what I did tonight. I expected him to be really, really tough, which he was. I know what it takes to work and get up in here. Thank you to him for bringing everything that he brought. 'I know it's a running joke, everybody wants to get on the internet and talk s***: 'Oh, his knees, his knees [are done]!' Well, shut the f*** up. I can still do what I do. The rest of the welterweight division, listen: I have been and always will be the f*****g boogeyman.' Advertisement 'I can do that to anybody, any one of them. Those knockouts will come, I just needed this monkey off my back. Next one, whoever it is for that title, I'll see about you.' An emotional Usman also referenced his daughter's absence from the Fight Night, saying: 'Before I go, I just wanted to say that I have a lot of emotions coming into this one [...] a lot of things that I had to battle back from. I'm holding back all the emotions. 'Unfortunately, my daughter can'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.' Jaoquin Buckley must go back to the drawing board (Getty) Jack Della Maddalena, the reigning welterweight champion, is due to defend the belt later this year against Islam Makhachev, who recently vacated the lightweight strap. 'JDM' won the belt in May by outpointing Belal Muhammad, who is now calling for a fight with Usman, but the 'Nigerian Nightmare' has insisted he only wants a title shot next.
Forbes
3 days ago
- Sport
- Forbes
UFC Announces First Nine Fights For UFC 319 PPV Fight Car
TORONTO, ONTARIO - JANUARY 20: Dricus Du Plessis of South Africa reacts after his victory against ... More Sean Strickland in a UFC middleweight championship bout during the UFC 297 event at Scotiabank Arena on January 20, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) The next defense of the UFC middleweight title headlines the UFC 319 pay-per-view fight card. In that matchup, Dricus du Plessis looks to defend his title against the No. 3 ranked UFC middleweight contender Khamzat Chimaev. UFC 319 takes place on August 16 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The UFC has not held a Chicago fight card since 2019. In addition to the main event, the UFC has confirmed several other fights for the ESPN+ streaming PPV card. Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev - For Du Plessis's UFC middleweight title Jared Cannonier vs. Michael Page - Middleweight Gerald Meerschaert vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk - Middleweight Edson Barboza vs. Drakkar Klose - Lightweight King Green vs. Diego Ferreira - Lightweight Karine Silva vs. JJ Aldrich - Women's Flyweight Bryan Battle vs. Nursulton Ruziboev - Middleweight Chase Hooper vs. Alexander Hernandez - Lightweight Jessica Andrade vs. Loopy Godinez - Women's Strawweight Saturday, August 16, 2025 United Center in Chicago, IL On Sale on Friday, June 20 Main Card: 10:00 p.m. ET Preliminary Card: 8:00 p.m. ET Early Prelims: 6:00 p.m. ET South Africa's Dricus du Plessis celebrates his victory over Sean Strickland of the US after their ... More men's middleweight division event of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 312 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney on February 9, 2025. (Photo by Saeed KHAN / AFP) / — IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE — (Photo by SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images) Dricus du Plessis (23-2) joined the UFC in October 2020 as a 26-year-old with a 14-2 record. Before he joined the UFC, Du Plessis had won titles with KSW and EFC. He made his debut against Markus Perez on the main card of a UFC Fight Night event in Abu Dhabi. Du Plessis knocked out Perez in the first round. He followed that win with a July 2021 'Performance of the Night' KO win of Trevin Giles. Those two wins earned him a shot against the ranked veteran Brad Tavares. Du Plessis won that scrap via decision. The victory put him in the top 15 of the division. A December 2022 submission win over Darren Till moved Du Plessis to No. 10 in the division. A TKO win over the No. 5 ranked Derek Brunson followed. Du Plessis, who was working his way up the rankings, faced a tough test in his next outing when he met the No. 2 ranked Robert Whittaker at UFC 290. Du Plessis continued his rise, knocking out the former UFC champion in the UFC middleweight title eliminator and earning another 'Performance of the Night' bonus. More important than the bonus was the title shot Du Plessis received for that win. He faced then-champion Sean Strickland in January, taking the title from Strickland in a 'Fight of the Night' bonus-winning scrap. In his first title defense Du Plessis picked up an August 2024 submission win over former UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya. Du Plessis most recently faced Strickland in a rematch at UFC 312 in early February of this year. Du Plessis won that contest via unanimous decision. I wrote of the champ after that fight, "Dricus du Plessis looked much more controlled and less reckless at UFC 312 than in many of his previous battles. He mixed up his striking techniques and targets against Sean Strickland, landed the more powerful blows, and didn't put himself in too many awkward positions. "Du Plessis did a much better job in his UFC 312 rematch against Strickland in shutting down his foe's offense. In the first fight, Strickland landed 173 of 408 significant strikes. While in the rematch, Strickland was held to 128 landed strikes on 263 attempts. Meanwhile, Du Plessis increased his landed strikes and landing percentage from the first fight to the second. In the first battle, Du Plessis landed 137 of 354 attempts for a landing rate of 38 percent. At UFC 312, the champ landed 147 of 314 attempts for a striking rate of 46 percent. 'Du Plessis has defended the UFC middleweight crown twice while going 9-0 in the UFC. Despite his winning ways, the champ remains a bit of an enigma because his style shouldn't work — but it does.' ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 26: Khamzat Chimaev of Russia reacts after a submission ... More victory against Robert Whittaker of New Zealand in a middleweight fight during the UFC 308 event at Etihad Arena on October 26, 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) Chimaev (14-0) is the No. 3 fighter in the official UFC middleweight rankings. The 30-year-old made his UFC debut in July 2020 with a second-round submission win over John Phillips. He followed that victory with a first-round TKO over Rhys McKee 10 days later, breaking the UFC record for the quickest turnaround between UFC wins in the modern era. Then, in September, Chimaev knocked out Gerald Meerschaert. Things slowed down for Chimaev after that. He was booked to face Leon Edwards in December 2020, but that matchup never came to be despite multiple attempts to make the fight happen. The reason behind the numerous cancellations of Edwards vs. Chimaev was COVID-19. When Chimaev finally returned to the Octagon in October 2021, he made short work of Li Jingliang, scoring a submission at 3:16 of Round 1. In his next bout, Chimaev went the distance for the first time in his career, picking up a victory over Gilbert Burns. He followed that with a submission over Kevin Holland. A break of more than a year followed that victory. Chimaev's next outing was an October 2023 matchup against Kamaru Usman, a fight that Chimaev won via decision. A year after that, Chimaev made short work of Robert Whittaker, defeating the ex-UFC middleweight champ via submission (face crank) in the first round of their UFC 308 scrap. We will have more on Du Plessis vs. Chimaev and the UFC 319 fight card as fight night approaches.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Usman Has A ‘Simple Path' To DDP
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight king Kamaru Usman finally returns to action after a lengthy layoff against surging contender Joaquin Buckley at UFC Atlanta this weekend (Sat., June 14, 2025) inside State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' is all about the idea of big 'blockbuster' fights these days. Advertisement Recently, he revealed that he sees a potential fight with Islam Makhachev, who is now moving up to the Welterweight division, as a massive superfight and something he's looking forward to. But at UFC Atlanta's media day, the 38-year-old unveiled a bolder vision: a second title and a historic Africa showdown with Middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis. And the route to get there is easy in his eyes. 'My path there is pretty simple,' Usman told reporters. 'I'll just lay out the map here. I'll finish Buckley this weekend and then wait for the winner of, I believe, Islam and JDM, which is going to be an incredible fight. It's such a great thing now having Islam come up into the division. Who wouldn't buy a ticket to that? Former pound-for-pound and current pound-for-pound. I love Islam. Islam is a great fighter. I think that's something that we'd both remember forever.' Advertisement 'Win [against Islam] and then go ahead and probably vacate, go up,' Usman continued. 'Myself vs. Dricus Du Plessis, if he is the champion, or Khamzat Chimaev, too, if Dricus is no longer the champion, we do that. If Dricus is the champion, we do that in the first card in Africa. That's another blockbuster. These are back-to-back blockbuster fights you tell your grandkids about. Who wouldn't watch those?' Usman's blockbuster blueprint is electrifying, but a ferocious Buckley stands in his way this Saturday. With knockout power and a hunger to topple a legend, Buckley aims to shatter 'The Nigerian Nightmare's' comeback. Dream big. Remember that will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Atlanta fight card right here, starting with the ESPN/ESPN+ 'Prelims' matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+). Advertisement To check out the latest and greatest UFC Atlanta: 'Usman vs. Buckley' news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. More from
Forbes
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
UFC Atlanta Fight Card Odds And Predictions: Usman Vs. Buckley
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 20: Kamaru Usman of Nigeria poses on the scale during the ... More UFC 294 ceremonial weigh-in at Etihad Arena on October 20, 2023 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) On Saturday, former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman looks to end his three-fight losing skid while simultaneously halting the rise of 170-pound contender Joaquin Buckley, who brings a six-fight winning streak with him into the main event of the UFC Atlanta fight card. UFC Atlanta takes place on Saturday, June 14 from State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The UFC Fight Night main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+. In the co-main event, former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas faces Miranda Maverick in a pivotal flyweight bout. ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 21: Kamaru Usman of Nigeria reacts after a decision loss ... More against Khamzat Chimaev of the United Arab Emirates in a middleweight fight during the UFC 294 event at Etihad Arena on October 21, 2023 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) Kamaru Usman (20-4) , the former UFC welterweight champion, enters UFC Atlanta on a three-fight losing skid. The 38-year-old last fought in October 2023, when he dropped a split decision to Khamzat Chimaev in a middleweight matchup. Usman lost his 170-pound crown to Edwards via a head-kick knockout at UFC 278 in August 2022. He dropped the rematch at UFC 286 in March of 2023 via a majority decision. Before his loss, Usman had defended the title five times. Usman is the No. 5 ranked fighter in the UFC's welterweight weight class. He has a career record of 20-3. SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - OCTOBER 05: Joaquin Buckley reacts after his knockout victory against Stephen ... More Thompson in a welterweight fight during the UFC 307 event at Delta Center on October 05, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) Joaquin Buckley (21-6) is the No. 7 fighter in the UFC's 170-pound weight class. The 31-year-old Buckley is one quite a run since dropping to welterweight in 2023. Buckley is 6-0 during his current welterweight run with four knockouts and two decision wins. He fought four times in 2024, picking up a knockout win over Vicente Luque, a decision victory over Nursulton Ruziboev, a knockout over two-time UFC title challenger Stephen Thompson. Buckley finished the year with a doctor stoppage TKO win over former interim UFC welterweight champion Colby Covington in December. When BetOnline first published opening odds for this matchup, Usman opened as a -170 betting favorite over Buckley, who was initially listed at +140. The betting line has moved in a big way. Today, Buckley is the -285 favorite, while Usman is the +245 betting underdog. Age: 38 Height: 6' 0' Reach: 76' Stance: Switch Age: 31 Height: 5' 10' Reach: 76' Stance: Southpaw SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - OCTOBER 05: Joaquin Buckley reacts after his knockout victory against Stephen ... More Thompson in a welterweight fight during the UFC 307 event at Delta Center on October 05, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) It's a cliche, but it's also true. It being the phrase, time catches up with everyone. Time has caught up with Kamaru Usman, and the fact that he hasn't fought in close to 20 months won't help him on Saturday. Especially since his opponent, Joaquin Buckley, has stepped into the Octagon four times since Usman's last fight, going 4-0 with three knockouts during that time. Usman has fought better competition over his career. If this matchup had been booked while he was running roughshod over the welterweight division between 2015 and 2021 with a 15-fight winning streak, the outlook for this fight would be much better for the former UFC champ. Unfortunately, this contest is taking place in 2025, which bodes much better for Buckley. Buckley is not an accurate striker, as he only connects on 37 percent of his attempted significant strikes. However, he is powerful, having racked up 15 of his 21 career wins via knockout. With that, look for Usman to use his defense to avoid the power of his opponent in this matchup. However, those defensive skills won't keep Buckley from connecting and scoring with his power punches over this five-round affair. The betting pick is for Buckley to win via decision with a chance of a Buckley knockout victory. We will have more on the UFC Atlanta fight card as fight night nears, and fight night results and reactions on Saturday.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dricus Du Plessis Refuses to Fight Nassourdine Imavov if Khamzat Chimaev Pulls Out of UFC 319
Dricus Du Plessis Refuses to Fight Nassourdine Imavov if Khamzat Chimaev Pulls Out of UFC 319 originally appeared on Athlon Sports. UFC 319 is still months away, but anticipation is already building as the promotion prepares for its return to the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The event is officially scheduled for August 16. Headlining the event is a highly anticipated middleweight title fight between current champion Dricus Du Plessis and undefeated contender Khamzat Chimaev. But even with the date locked in, controversy is starting to bubble—especially after the champ made it clear he's not interested in facing a particular top contender if the plan falls apart. Advertisement In a recent interview shared by RMC Sport Combat, Du Plessis voiced his singular focus on fighting Chimaev and made his stance on Nassourdine Imavov crystal clear. 'I have to be honest, if [Chimaev] pulls out of this fight early, I will not fight Imavov because I want to fight Khamzat. Dricus Du PlessisGetty Images I don't want anything else,' Du Plessis said. He added, 'If I'm already there, two weeks, I'll fight Imavov if [Chimaev] pulls out. If he pulls out on four weeks, I'm not gonna fight. I will wait for him because I want to beat him, because he's the best right now. I want to only fight the best of the best.' Du Plessis has also publicly expressed concern that Chimaev may not make it to fight night, adding more tension to the situation. Nassourdine ImavovGetty Images The remarks didn't sit well with Imavov, who fired back on social media with a sharp response: 'Thanks for the compliments @dricusduplessis but you're not Jon Jones, if something happens, you're not going to block anything, if you're not ready to defend leave the place.' Advertisement While Du Plessis didn't rule Imavov out entirely, it's clear he's not eager to risk his belt unless it's against Chimaev. Imavov, riding a four-fight win streak and fresh off a major victory over Israel Adesanya, isn't likely to take the sideline treatment lightly. As UFC 319 approaches, the drama outside the cage is already delivering plenty of action. Related: Francis Ngannou's Trainer Sends a Clear Message to Dana White About a Return to the UFC Related: Conor McGregor Reacts to Sean O'Malley's Camp Ahead of UFC 316 This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
