Kamaru Usman’s Lofty Aspirations After Beating Joaquin Buckley at UFC Atlanta

Kamaru Usman hasn’t lost ambition despite recently turning 38 years of age.

Usman (20-4) headlines UFC on ESPN 69 against Joaquin Buckley (21-6) this weekend at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. “The Nigerian Nightmare” recently laid out his planned career trajectory if he beats Buckley. With former lightweight champ Islam Makhachev expected to challenge Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight title next, Usman wants a crack at the winner.

Rather than stopping there, after claiming the 170-pound throne, he plans to move up and make a bid for the middleweight belt to become a two-division champ—but not simultaneous, as the UFC has actively tried to avoid that of late. Usman said at the UFC Atlanta media day:

“I’ll lay out the map,” Usman chronicled. “Finish Buckley this weekend, and then wait for the winner of Islam vs. JDM... I love Islam, he's a great fighter, I think that's something that we'll both remember forever... Win that [against Islam], and then go ahead and probably vacate, go up [and fight] Dricus Du Plessis if he is the champion, or Khamzat Chimaev. If Dricus is the champ we do that in the first card in Africa... and then after that, now you're sitting with two belts like, ‘what do we do next.’”

Usman lost his title via a last-minute shock upset against Leon Edwards in 2022. In the immediate rematch, “Rocky” captured a majority verdict to seal the deal on “The Nigerian Nightmare” on top of the welterweight ladder. Large for his division, Usman moved up to middleweight to face Chimaev in October 2023 and dropped a decision. He has not competed since that loss.

Meanwhile, standing between Usman and his dreams is Buckley, riding a six-fight winning streak with four finishes. His current stretch includes victories over names including Vicente Luque, Stephen Thompson and Colby Covington, beating all three by knockout.