April 25th was a big day for fight announcements even if International Fight Week continues to dominate conversations.
Along with Dustin Poirier’s last dance at UFC 318 in New Orleans, a former UFC champion’s return has been made official for June 14th in Atlanta.
Kamaru Usman is currently on a three-fight losing streak but before this drop in form, he reigned as the dominant force at 170-pounds and sat right at the top of the pound-for-pound list.
After over 18-months out, Usman will face Joaquin Buckley in a welterweight main event that has big stakes at play for the rest of the division.
If ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ is able to halt his opponent’s winning streak to earn his first win since UFC 268, it will certainly shake things up around the title picture.
Kamaru Usman gives his initial thoughts on returning to face Joaquin Buckley in Atlanta
Despite his inactivity and current form, Kamaru Usman still holds a high position in the welterweight rankings as the #4-contender.
Joaquin Buckley, on the other hand, didn’t get to the #6-spot based on the pedigree of what he has accomplished in the past with ‘New Mansa’ rising up the 170-pound ladder last year after he produced four consecutive wins in 2025.
Both men’s latest victories even came against the same opponent but the difference is that Buckley beat Colby Covington last December whereas Usman got his hand raised in their rematch for the welterweight belt all the way back in November of 2021.
Despite this, a win here puts ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ right back into the title picture and he’s still yet to face many of the top names that are around him in the rankings.
In a quick bonus episode of his Pound 4 Pound podcast alongside Henry Cejudo, Usman gave his thoughts on his return now that it has been made official as he responded to some of the criticism that he has faced in recent times for not being active.
“You know how they be Henry, they said I was going to do this, do that, do this, do that but guess what Henry? I’m tired of all the talking. I had to take a little bit of a sabbatical, like I’ve said, but now I’m back from that sabbatical. That’s right Henry, you heard it right, your boy is back.”
Usman went on to speak specifically about Buckley and their matchup, expressing excitement to go out there and leave it all in the Octagon on June 14.
“It’s a great fight. He’s very aggressive, he’s strong, he’s athletic and I like that. Every now and again, that warrior spirit, you need to exercise it, that’s where we come from Henry. I’m one of those guys where I put in so much time and effort, you got to feel the fight a little bit.
“You wanna get in there and feel like you got into a fight and I’ve been in a couple where I wasn’t touched and I got out of there, in the back, still adrenaline going, feeling like I need to burn off some energy but hopefully, if he does his homework, everything comes together, it’s going to be an incredible fight.”
When did Kamaru Usman last compete inside the Octagon?
Though his last victory came at UFC 268, Kamaru Usman has competed three times since then before he remained inactive for 18 months.
His welterweight title reign was ended in spectacular fashion by Leon Edwards at UFC 278 before ‘Rocky’ closed out their trilogy by beating him for a second time at UFC 268 in London.
After fighting in March, Usman ended up making a surprise return later on in 2023 when he stepped in on short notice to replace Paulo Costa and face Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294.
Considering that the fight was on short notice and it was up a weight class, the former welterweight champion had success with some believing that he did enough to win what ended up being a majority decision in favor of Chimaev.