Former UFC champion Kamaru Usman took a unique route in response to Joaquin Buckley’s recent callout at UFC Tampa.
Joaquin Buckley secured the biggest victory of his career by defeating Kamaru Usman’s two-time rival, Colby Covington, in the main event at UFC Tampa. Buckley left Covington’s face a bloody mess, leading to a doctor’s stoppage that ended the fight, allowing Buckley to continue his welterweight winning streak.
After his victory over Covington, Buckley promptly called out Usman for a potential matchup. Gauging the interest from the arena crowd, it appeared that Usman was the next desired opponent in Buckley’s sights for a possible No. 1 contender bout.
Usman was present cageside when Buckley issued the callout, though he did not respond immediately. However, it didn’t take long for Usman to eventually address Buckley’s challenge.
During a recent episode of the Pound 4 Pound podcast, Usman shared his thoughts on Buckley’s callout at UFC Tampa.
“I feel like the hot chick at the bar, everybody wants a piece,” Usman remarked. “It’s almost like no one’s listening to what I’m saying. No one’s getting what I’m saying. I don’t care who it is. Shavkat [Rakhmonov], Belal, Ian [Machado Garry], Buckley, ‘JDM’ [Jack Della Maddalena], I don’t care who it is.”
Usman praised Buckley for his performance against Covington, highlighting the success Buckley had against Usman’s rival.
“First of all, shout out to Buckley, he did great for being able to go through a guy like Covington,” Usman explained. “With Covington having that long layoff, I don’t know how he’s going to show up, but everybody knows as the fight gets later, Covington gets a little bit more comfortable, so it was going to be how quick he was able to get the ring rust off and get going. Buckley didn’t really allow him to do that.”
Usman has significant experience against Covington, having defeated him twice during his welterweight title reign. Their matchups are widely regarded as two of the greatest fights in UFC history.
Since his last fight, Usman has not competed following a middleweight loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294. He is now teasing a return to the welterweight division for the first time since his consecutive title losses to Leon Edwards.
As for Buckley, he remains unbeaten since fully transitioning to the 170lbs division last year. He achieved a notable knockout of Stephen Thompson at UFC 307, adding wins against Vicente Luque and Alex Morono to his resume.
Upon Usman’s anticipated return to welterweight, he reenters a division experiencing significant changes at the top. UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad is expected to face Shavkat Rakhmonov next year, while emerging contenders like Buckley, Jack Della Maddalena, and Ian Machado Garry are also awaiting their opportunities.
It remains to be seen whether the UFC matchmakers will grant Buckley’s request for a fight with Usman. Currently, Usman is taking a measured approach as he prepares for his return to the cage and plans his next steps.
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