Welterweight contender Joaquin Buckley faced former champion Kamaru Usman in the UFC Atlanta main event this past Saturday and came up on the wrong side of a unanimous decision.
Usman dominated the first four rounds of the five-round fight with his takedown and grappling ability. Buckley came alive in the final frame but it was too little too late.
“Hand wasn’t raised last night but I am still victorious and will be one of the greats,” Buckley wrote on Instagram. “This trip has been beyond amazing and I wouldn’t change a thing that happened. In my fight camp everything was perfectly planned. I just didn’t execute like I know I could… We wanted to land early damage on Usman and get him moving back but he did a good job neutralizing threats with takedowns.
“But don’t get it twisted Usman was more concerned about holding me than hurting me in this fight but he did what he felt was necessary to win and so can’t be mad at him. Congrats to @usman84kg and his Team and @francisngannou I saw message.”
“Excited about the welterweight division See ya when I see ya.”
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The loss snapped a six-fight winning streak for “New Mansa.” Having fought four times in 2024 heading into last Saturday, Buckley plans to take a break and work on his game.
“Atlanta was good to us baby. We sold out the arena. It was an amazing opportunity for me to go out there and show up and show out,” Buckley said in the video. “I truly believe I did that especially in the fifth round. We had Usman backing up trying to get those takedown but we stuffed every one. Don’t get it twisted. Even though my hand was not raised, I still feel victorious.
“Shout out to Kamaru Usman. You are truly a legend. You are truly a GOAT. Thank you for the opportunity, for allowing me to be able to step into the octagon with you and grace me with you presence.”
“I didn’t win. I didn’t get my hand raised, but that’s all good. This gives me time to take a break and really kind of work on some tools and work on some things we’ve got to work on,” Buckley continued. “We’re going not come back even stronger.”
