He’s never been to medical school, but Kamaru Usman has spent most of his career as a heart surgeon.
Usman made his name by taking the heart and soul out of his opponents through his fabulous MMA career. He reeled off 19 consecutive victories, a feat so rare, even all-time greats never even dreamed of hitting that number.
He held the UFC welterweight title for more than three years and defended it successfully five times. He was at one point the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
During that lengthy run at the top, even UFC CEO Dana White said Usman was the greatest welterweight in the sport’s history.
Every night, Usman was ready for 25 minutes of a soul-sucking battle. It often switched from an athletic contest to a battle of wills, a test of who wanted it most.
On Saturday, Usman expects another similar grind when he takes on fast-charging contender Joaquin Buckley in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Atlanta.
Buckley has won six straight, is oozing with confidence, and believes one more victory should earn him a title shot.
The traits that make Buckley so fearsome — his athleticism, quickness, power, and diverse striking — are obvious to anyone who’s watched him even moderately closely. The guy is a physical freak of an athlete.
Usman knows all he needs to know about Buckley’s physical gifts. But he’s eager to examine the part of a man that never lies.
Usman’s success has always been deeper than sheer power and athletic gifts. He’s always managed to find another gear when the pace is hardest or the situation is most dire.
Even when it looked like he’d emptied the tank, there was always something left in reserve.
He intends to find out if Buckley has it.
“He’s tough, he’s aggressive, he’s powerful,” Usman said of Buckley. “He’s very, very aggressive. It seems he’s a dangerous guy for anyone to go in and fight. But I’ve said this before, for me, it’s not just fighting the guy, his athleticism and his skill. It’s his heart. The part of any man that never truly lies is your heart. At some point, it will reveal itself. That’s what I’ve done.
“I’ve made a career about being able to expose guys’ hearts. It’s those inner spaces where they might not believe in themselves or they know they can’t achieve this. So that’s what I’m looking to do. I’m going to go in there. He’s going to punch me. I’m going to punch him and then my heart is going to take over.”
His heart’s never been in question. His future, though, is a different issue. Pressure builds, even on the legends, when they’re stuck in a three-fight losing skid.
The welterweight division is as strong and as deep as it’s ever been. The top eight below champion Jack Della Maddalena are ex-champ Belal Muhammad; Sean Brady; Shavkat Rakhmonov; ex-champ Leon Edwards; Usman; Ian Machado Garry; Buckley and Michael Morales. On top of that, pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev will debut at welterweight later this year.
That’s a lineup that would make the 1927 Yankees, with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in the middle, look short.
But even the ’27 Yankees once lost four in a row. On paper, it seems Usman is on the way out. His last win came at UFC 268 against Colby Covington. He lost back-to-back fights against Edwards and then a middleweight bout to Khamzat Chimaev.
Usman was far ahead in the final moment of the first Edwards fight when he got caught with the head kick from hell and knocked out.
It happens. And it shouldn’t have — and wasn’t — taken by anyone in the know as a sign of Usman’s decline. It was more about Edwards delivering a once-in-a-lifetime shot with the title on the line.
He lost majority decisions to both Edwards and Chimaev in his next two outings, with the Chimaev defeat coming after he had taken the bout on short notice up a weight class.
Ed Mulholland/Imagn Images
Kamaru Usman leaves the Octagon after defeating Colby Covington at UFC 268 in 2021.
Usman sits in a similar position where the legendary former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield found himself in 1996. Holyfield stopped Bobby Czyz in a desultory performance on May 10 that led many to believe he was finished.
Five months later, as a 25-1 underdog, he knocked out Mike Tyson. Eight months after that, he defeated Tyson again and was on top of the boxing world.
With just small tweaks, Usman could have won all three of those bouts. And a win over Buckley will propel him once again toward the title, even if three of the four ranked above him have a strong argument for being next.
Muhammad is the former champion and lost a close decision to Della Maddalena in May. Brady was sensational in finishing Edwards. Rakhmonov is 19-0 and has finished 18 fights.
Edwards is on a two-fight losing streak and doesn’t deserve a shot, but Makhachev will get it. The UFC announced that he’ll face Della Maddalena for the belt in the second half of the year.
That’s got Usman’s mind wandering. If Makhachev beats JDM — and that’s no given — he could see himself standing across from Makhachev next.
“I do think Islam has the ability to do it [win the welterweight title], but it’s not going to be easy,” Usman said.But if Usman bests Buckley and Makhachev handles Della Maddalena, Usman threw his hat into the cage to be Makhachev’s first welterweight title defense.
“Fast forward and yeah, current pound-for-pound against former pound-for-pound, you know?” Usman said. “That’s a blockbuster. That would be great to go out and get another blockbuster [before I’m through].”
That dream will need to wait. But on Saturday in Atlanta, the surgeon is back in the operating room, and once again, someone’s heart is on the table.
Imagn Images
Islam Makhachev will vacate the lightweight title to challenge welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena later this year.