‘Marty’s out of his mind’: Fans react to Kamaru Usman calling for title shot after UFC Atlanta win

UFC fans are happy to see Kamaru Usman back in the octagon after a long layoff, but they don’t believe his win over Joaquin Buckley should put him back in a title fight.

Usman returned for the first time in nearly two years and earned a lopsided decision against Buckley in the main event of UFC Atlanta this past Saturday. The victory snapped a three-fight skid, and served as Usman’s first UFC win since earning a decision against Colby Covington at UFC 268 in November 2021.

Throughout fight week, Usman was quite confident that a victory would not only put him back in the title conversation, but would earn him a title fight against the winner of the future matchup between new champ Jack Della Maddalena and Islam Makhachev. A lot has happened since Usman was healing up, with a slew of new contenders and competitors rising up the divisional ranks such as Sean Brady, Shavkat Rakhmonov, Ian Machado Garry, and others. Additionally, most fans believed that win, lose, or draw against Buckley, a grudge match against Belal Muhammad would be the fight to make.

Usman no-sold Muhammad during media day, then doubled-down on it after his win, remaining steadfast that a title fight should be next. The sentiment seemed to leave fans scratching their heads, as can be seen from the MMA Fighting community.

Check out fan reactions, plus vote in the poll about who Usman should face next below.