Joaquin Buckley reflects on his lopsided loss to Kamaru Usman at UFC Atlanta, acknowledging Usman’s dominance in wrestling while maintaining confidence in his abilities and determination to win UFC gold despite the setback.
Joaquin Buckley knows there’s a lot to learn from his tough decision loss to Kamaru Usman at UFC Atlanta. But that doesn’t make it any easier to swallow.
“You talk about every round he took me down, kept me there, I couldn’t get back to my feet,” Buckley shared on his YouTube channel. “I’m looking at Mike Beltran like, ‘Bro, c’mon, stand us up at least one time. Let me get back up to my feet.’”
Honestly, he felt embarrassed. Humiliated, even. Yet, he acknowledged Usman’s skill. “That night, it really showed that there’s levels to this game,” he admitted.
Usman dominated the wrestling, especially early on. He got takedowns at will, staying on top for most of the rounds. Buckley found some success on the feet in the later rounds, but by the fifth, he was desperate for a finish.
In that final round, Buckley defended all six of Usman’s takedown attempts. He believes it was just an off night, not poor defense. “Y’all talking about I can’t wrestle, what are ya’ll talking about?” he exclaimed.
He pointed to his past fight with Colby, claiming, “Colby is arguably a better wrestler than Usman.” Buckley insisted he just didn’t execute that night. “That’s on me.”
Reflecting on the fight, Buckley realized he was mesmerized. “I’m seeing Francis Ngannou across the cage from Kamaru Usman,” he said. He felt the weight of proving himself, but got caught up in the moment.
This loss ended an impressive six-fight win streak for Buckley since moving to welterweight. He had gone 4-0 in 2024, with stoppage wins over big names like Colby Covington and Stephen Thompson.
Despite the setback, Buckley remains confident. “It was Usman’s night,” he conceded, but his focus is unwavering. “We taking the throne. Period. We taking the throne — it’s just not today.”