Former UFC champion Kamaru Usman took a unique route in response to Joaquin Buckley’s recent callout at UFC Tampa.
Joaquin Buckley picked up the biggest win of his career by defeating Kamaru Usman‘s two-time rival, Colby Covington, in the UFC Tampa main event. After leaving Covington’s face a bloody mess, the fight was waved off due to a doctor’s stoppage as Buckley continued his welterweight winning streak.
Following his finish of Covington, Buckley wasted no time calling out Usman for his next fight. After gauging interest from the arena crowd, Usman seemed to be Buckley’s next desired opponent for a potential No. 1 contender matchup.
Usman was sitting cageside as Buckley called him out but didn’t immediately respond to Buckley while in attendance. But it didn’t take long for Usman to take the time to answer Buckley’s call.
Kamaru Usman ‘feels like the hot chick’ in the UFC welterweight division
During a recent episode of the Pound 4 Pound podcast, Usman opened up on Buckley’s callout at UFC Tampa.
“I feel like the hot chick at the bar, everybody wants a piece,” Usman said. “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.” (h/t MMA Fighting)
Usman then highlighted why Buckley was successful against his two-time 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 knows a thing or two about facing Covington, after defeating him twice during his welterweight title reign. Their two matchups are considered by many as two of the greatest fights in UFC history.
Usman hasn’t fought since a middleweight loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294. He’s teasing a return to the welterweight division for the first time since back-to-back title losses to Leon Edwards.
Kamaru Usman adds to intriguing UFC welterweight title picture
As for Buckley, he’s unbeaten since making the full-time move to 170lbs last year. He knocked out Stephen Thompson at UFC 307 after defeating the likes of Vicente Luque and Alex Morono in the Octagon.
Upon Usman’s return to welterweight, he’ll come back to the division at a time in which there’s quite the shakeup at the top of the heap. UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad is expected to return next year against Shavkat Rakhmonov, and other surging contenders like Buckley, Jack Della Maddalena, and Ian Machado Garry are also waiting in the wings.
Time will tell if the UFC matchmakers grant Buckley’s request for the Usman fight. For now, Usman is focused on building back to the cage at a calculated pace as he plots his next move.
- READ MORE: Colby Covington took another loss just days after brutal Joaquin Buckley defeat at UFC Tampa