Kamaru Usman’s brother returned to the octagon with an impressive come from behind victory to likely save his UFC career.
Heavyweight contender Mohammed Usman looked to be heading towards yet another defeat in the early stages of his showdown with Hamdy Abdelwahab, who was 4-0 entering the fight. However, Usman recovered well and won the second and third to send him back to the win column.
It marked the first win for Usman in almost two years, after suffering two decision defeats to Mick Parkin and Thomas Petersen. And should he have lost again, it likely would have been curtains for his UFC career.
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Mohammed Usman lands career-saving win at UFC Baku
Mohammed Usman stepped into the octagon on Saturday night in Baku buoyed by his brother’s first win since November of 2021 last week in Atlanta. But he struggled early with the power of Abdelwahab and ended up in a firefight that he looked to find difficult to win.
However, in the second he managed to land big shots of his own to earn back respect from his rival and quite clearly take the round. It left the fight coming down entirely to the third, which was relatively close until one sequence about a minute from the end.
Usman landed a massive right hand that stunned his rival, which likely swayed the judges in his favor. He proceeded to push for the finish but ran out of time, allowing the fight to go the scorecards, where he was given three 29-28 cards that ended his unbeaten opponent’s winning run.
Kamaru Usman completed successful return to the octagon last week at UFC Atlanta
Tonight’s victory brings the Usman brothers, who had been 0-5 heading into last weekend’s UFC Atlanta, to 2-0 in the past week. Kamaru Usman last week outpointed Joaquin Buckley at the State Farm Arena to end a years-long losing run.
The impressive wrestling of the former welterweight champion had been forgotten over the years, but he reminded Buckley just how dominant he can be. He completely took over from rounds one to four, before an exciting finish in the fifth as the challenger pushed for a much-needed finish.
It all led to an emotional scene in the octagon after the fact for the former champion. He did manage to remain composed enough to send a menacing message to his 170lb rivals. “The rest of the welterweight division, listen,” Usman said. “I have and always will be the f—— boogeyman.”