UFC Atlanta Fight Card Odds And Predictions: Usman Vs. Buckley
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 20: Kamaru Usman of Nigeria poses on the scale during the ... More UFC 294 ceremonial weigh-in at Etihad Arena on October 20, 2023 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
On Saturday, former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman looks to end his three-fight losing skid while simultaneously halting the rise of 170-pound contender Joaquin Buckley, who brings a six-fight winning streak with him into the main event of the UFC Atlanta fight card.
UFC Atlanta takes place on Saturday, June 14 from State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The UFC Fight Night main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+. In the co-main event, former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas faces Miranda Maverick in a pivotal flyweight bout.
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 21: Kamaru Usman of Nigeria reacts after a decision loss ... More against Khamzat Chimaev of the United Arab Emirates in a middleweight fight during the UFC 294 event at Etihad Arena on October 21, 2023 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Kamaru Usman (20-4) , the former UFC welterweight champion, enters UFC Atlanta on a three-fight losing skid. The 38-year-old last fought in October 2023, when he dropped a split decision to Khamzat Chimaev in a middleweight matchup.
Usman lost his 170-pound crown to Edwards via a head-kick knockout at UFC 278 in August 2022. He dropped the rematch at UFC 286 in March of 2023 via a majority decision. Before his loss, Usman had defended the title five times.
Usman is the No. 5 ranked fighter in the UFC's welterweight weight class. He has a career record of 20-3.
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - OCTOBER 05: Joaquin Buckley reacts after his knockout victory against Stephen ... More Thompson in a welterweight fight during the UFC 307 event at Delta Center on October 05, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Joaquin Buckley (21-6) is the No. 7 fighter in the UFC's 170-pound weight class. The 31-year-old Buckley is one quite a run since dropping to welterweight in 2023.
Buckley is 6-0 during his current welterweight run with four knockouts and two decision wins. He fought four times in 2024, picking up a knockout win over Vicente Luque, a decision victory over Nursulton Ruziboev, a knockout over two-time UFC title challenger Stephen Thompson. Buckley finished the year with a doctor stoppage TKO win over former interim UFC welterweight champion Colby Covington in December.
When BetOnline first published opening odds for this matchup, Usman opened as a -170 betting favorite over Buckley, who was initially listed at +140. The betting line has moved in a big way. Today, Buckley is the -285 favorite, while Usman is the +245 betting underdog.
Age: 38
Height: 6' 0'
Reach: 76'
Stance: Switch
Age: 31
Height: 5' 10'
Reach: 76'
Stance: Southpaw
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - OCTOBER 05: Joaquin Buckley reacts after his knockout victory against Stephen ... More Thompson in a welterweight fight during the UFC 307 event at Delta Center on October 05, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
It's a cliche, but it's also true. It being the phrase, time catches up with everyone. Time has caught up with Kamaru Usman, and the fact that he hasn't fought in close to 20 months won't help him on Saturday. Especially since his opponent, Joaquin Buckley, has stepped into the Octagon four times since Usman's last fight, going 4-0 with three knockouts during that time.
Usman has fought better competition over his career. If this matchup had been booked while he was running roughshod over the welterweight division between 2015 and 2021 with a 15-fight winning streak, the outlook for this fight would be much better for the former UFC champ. Unfortunately, this contest is taking place in 2025, which bodes much better for Buckley.
Buckley is not an accurate striker, as he only connects on 37 percent of his attempted significant strikes. However, he is powerful, having racked up 15 of his 21 career wins via knockout. With that, look for Usman to use his defense to avoid the power of his opponent in this matchup. However, those defensive skills won't keep Buckley from connecting and scoring with his power punches over this five-round affair.
The betting pick is for Buckley to win via decision with a chance of a Buckley knockout victory.
We will have more on the UFC Atlanta fight card as fight night nears, and fight night results and reactions on Saturday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
43 minutes ago
- USA Today
Justin Gaethje: 'I'm done doing sh*t' for UFC without appropriate appreciation, pay
Justin Gaethje: 'I'm done doing sh*t' for UFC without appropriate appreciation, pay Justin Gaethje does not appreciate the UFC leaving him out of the lightweight title picture. Gaethje (26-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) did the UFC a solid by defending his BMF title against Max Holloway on their historic 300th pay-per-view event. He wound up getting knocked out by Holloway at UFC 300, but rebounded with a win over Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313. Prior to Islam Makhachev vacating his UFC lightweight title, he was open to a fresh matchup against Gaethje over former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria. However, when Belal Muhammad lost his welterweight title to Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315, Makhachev opted to relinquish his belt for a move up to 170 pounds. With the UFC lightweight title now vacant, Gaethje expected to be one half of the title fight. Instead, the promotion opted to match up Topuria against Charles Oliveira in the UFC 317 headliner on June 28. "They owe me a championship fight," Gaethje said on "The Makeshift Podcast." "I'm 3-1 in my last four. They came to my house begging me to fight Max Holloway at UFC 300. I consider that an exhibition fight. I don't mean that the loss is not on my record. I mean it had nothing to do with rankings. In the time that I did that, Dustin Poirier, who I just beat, got a good win over (Benoit) Saint Denis and then fought for the belt "Since I've won (vs. Fiziev), the champion has been saying he wants to fight me. So they could have easily set that up, but they didn't. Then he vacates, and then Oliveira is 2-2 in his last fights, already has a loss to Makhachev, and they bring a brand-new guy in, and I get f*cked again. So I'm not going to fight any of these motherf*ckers for fun unless they pay me so much more money." Ali Abdelaziz revealed that Gaethje will consider retirement if he doesn't get the next title shot. "The Highlight" continued to vent his frustration towards the UFC. "I'm the most consistent guy," Gaethje said. "I think anybody that's ever performed for their company and been as consistent as an employee for their company gets a Christmas bonus, gets a thank you, get a 'Good f*cking job.' Nah – I'm done doing sh*t here. I love fighting for the UFC and I'd never want to fight somewhere else, but I'm not just going to throw my legacy away for anybody." For Gaethje, it's title shot or bust. "I'm waiting for them to announce it," Gaethje said of a presumed title shot. "(Oliveira is) 2-2, I'm 3-1. What do you want me to do? Not my fault (Dan) Hooker dropped out. (Arman) Tsarukyan should have got it, but he f*cked himself. That's his fault."
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Al Hilal say no pre-Club World Cup transfers due to player demands: ‘We don't print money'
Al Hilal CEO Esteve Calzada has said the club did not make transfers ahead of the Club World Cup due to 'crazy' financial demands from players. The Riyadh club are one of four Saudi Pro League clubs to be controlled by the nation's Public Investment Fund (PIF) since 2023. Significant investment saw Al Hilal sign Euro-based players including Ruben Neves, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Joao Cancelo, while club record signing Neymar departed in January to return to Santos. Calzada said the perception that Al Hilal had limitless resources was 'a reality a while ago and now it's evolving into a myth' and said many players and agents did not understand that they too had budget constraints. 'What a player can earn in Saudi Arabia will always be much more than what they can earn in Europe,' Calzada said in an interview with Marca. 'But clearly, we don't have unlimited resources, nor do we print money. 'In fact, we've missed out on opportunities to sign players precisely because they believed money was limitless, and we have to manage the club sustainably and on reasonable terms.' Advertisement Calzada said the newly-introduced pre-Club World Cup transfer window, which ran from June 1 to June 10, was 'strange' and said the club had a lot of activity but were unable to conclude any deals. '(We haven't signed anyone) firstly, because we have a lot of confidence in our team, and secondly, because the circumstances haven't been right, including the fact that some people have gone crazy with the fees they're asking for,' he said. 'They think we can reach any figure.' Al Hilal begin their tournament against Real Madrid on June 18, before facing RB Salzburg four days later and concluding their group stage against Pachuca on June 27. ()
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Jared Cannonier vs. Michael Page added to UFC 319 in Chicago
Jared Cannonier vs. Michael Page added to UFC 319 in Chicago The lineup for the UFC's return to the "Windy City" continues to build with the addition of a former title challenger to the lineup. Jared Cannonier (18-8 MMA, 11-8 UFC) is set to take on Michael Page (23-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) at UFC 319, which takes place Aug. 16 at United Center in Chicago. UFC officials announced the middleweight booking Friday. Although a card placement wasn't announced, the matchup almost certainly will be part of the pay-per-view main card. UFC 319 is headlined by a middleweight title fight between champion Dricus Du Plessis and challenger Khamzat Chimaev. Page had a high-profile UFC debut at UFC 299 15 months ago and outworked Kevin Holland for a unanimous decision at welterweight. He dropped his follow-up to Ian Machado Garry, but in February threw a wrench into the middleweight division with an upset of Shara Magomedov. Now the longtime Bellator standout will look for a second straight at 185 pounds in the UFC. Cannonier fought for the middleweight title in mid-2022, but dropped a decision to then-champ Israel ADesanya. He had back-to-back wins over former title challengers Sean Strickland and Marvin Vettori after that, but fell back in to the pack when he dropped bouts to Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho in 2024. Earlier this year, though, the "Killa Gorilla" got back on track with a fourth-round knockout of Gregory Rodrigues in a bonus-winning performance in his latest UFC main event. A win over Page would be another high-profile one to add to his resume and keep him in contention at 185. With the addition, the latest UFC 319 lineup now includes:
