5 takeaways from UFC Fight Night: Kamaru Usman vs. Joaquin Buckley
The UFC visited Atlanta, Georgia, last night for the first time in six years. While the Fight Night event the promotion put on wasn't the best of 2025, it was pretty solid overall.
UFC Fight Night: Kamaru Usman vs. Joaquin Buckley saw a very impressive showing in the headliner, as well as some other strong performances. With one of the biggest events of the year coming up later in the month, it's unlikely this one will be talked about for long, but for now, it's worth discussing.
Here, then, are five takeaways from UFC Fight Night: Kamaru Usman vs. Joaquin Buckley.
#5. Malcolm Wellmaker might be a man to watch at 135 pounds
Given last night's event only featured three finishes across 13 bouts, it was no surprise to see burgeoning bantamweight prospect Malcolm Wellmaker handed a $50k bonus.
'The Machine' came into his fight with Kris Moutinho off the back of a big knockout in his UFC debut in April.
Wellmaker didn't need long at all to repeat the feat last night. He lit up Moutinho with crisp combinations before crushing him with a right hook midway through the first round. The shot landed so cleanly that Moutinho went down face-first, completely unconscious.
The win moved Wellmaker, who was working as a pipe fitter earlier this year, to 10-0 in MMA, and marked him out as a man to keep a close eye on. After all, Moutinho managed to take Sean O'Malley into the third round when they faced off.
Hopefully, then, 'The Machine' can get a main card fight against a higher-ranked opponent next time out.
#4. Should the Unified Rules be changed to accommodate upkicks to the head?
Last weekend at UFC 316, Julianna Pena was docked a point for landing a pair of illegal upkicks to the head of Kayla Harrison in their bantamweight title bout. Last night, another fight saw an illegal upkick used, only this time, it led to the end of the bout.
This time, it was light-heavyweight Rodolfo Bellato on the end of the shot. Paul Craig's upkick connected flush to the Brazilian's face late in the first round, and with Bellato looking dazed, ref Kevin MacDonald was forced to throw the bout out.
Whether Bellato was that badly hurt or whether he was looking for a way out is debatable. Craig, though, was in luck because the fight was declared a no-contest rather than a disqualification.
It's worth asking, though, whether the Unified Rules of MMA need adjusting to allow such shots to become legal. Right now, any kick to the head of a downed fighter is illegal and could lead to a No Contest or disqualification.
However, an upkick delivered to the head of a kneeling fighter by a downed opponent is very different from a soccer kick to the head of a fighter who has been knocked down.
In essence, adding weapons to a fighter stuck on their back can only be a good thing, and there's no proof that an upkick to a kneeling fighter is any worse than one delivered to a standing fighter.
MMA is a sport that is still evolving, and so perhaps this ought to be the next evolution of it.
#3. Cody Brundage's UFC career continues to be weird
While many fans probably wouldn't be able to pick him out of a lineup, Cody Brundage has been with the UFC for almost four years.
Unfortunately, it's probably fair to suggest that he'll end up being best-known for being involved in three bouts with weird endings, the latest of which took place last night.
Brundage was faced with middleweight prospect Mansur Abdul-Malik, and with the fight tied up going into the third round, it looked like it could go either way.
Abdul-Malik, though, looked determined to finish things. After dropping Brundage with what looked like a knee to the body in a wild exchange, he appeared to have done just that.
However, Brundage was quick to protest the stoppage, suggesting an accidental headbutt rather than the knee had sent him down.
A check of the replay confirmed this was the case, but unfortunately for Brundage, too much of the fight had gone to declare a no-contest. Instead, Abdul-Malik was awarded the win via technical decision.
To call this an odd ending would be an understatement, but it did at least show the benefits of allowing referees to look at replays. It didn't save Brundage from suffering a loss, of course, but the fight at least ended in a wild way - something that couldn't be said for most of the bouts last night.
#2. It might be time for Cody Garbrandt to call it a day
Given that it'll be nine years since his famous win over Dominick Cruz this December, many fans have questioned exactly how much former UFC bantamweight champ Cody Garbrandt has left in the tank.
'No Love' came into last night's fight with Raoni Barcelos on the back of a loss to Deiveson Figueiredo, and had taken a year off to recover from it.
Unfortunately, his time away didn't appear to have helped. While Barcelos didn't finish the former champ, Garbrandt had nothing for the Brazilian and was bullied for three rounds en route to a unanimous decision loss.
Okay, so 'No Love' wasn't finished this time, but he's still lost seven of his last ten bouts in the UFC now, and at the age of 33, looks miles past his best.
So, should Garbrandt retire? From a sporting standpoint, the answer is surely yes. He's never going to get back into the title picture now, and carrying on will likely only see him get hurt.
Financial reasons may mean that he continues to enter the octagon, but after last night, diminishing returns are likely. Garbrandt was once great, but it's time to call it a day.
#1. Kamaru Usman still has a lot left in the tank
While one former UFC champion lost in pretty bad fashion last night, another proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he's still got a lot left in the tank.
Matched with rising star Joaquin Buckley in last night's headliner, former welterweight champ Kamaru Usman came into Atlanta with his back to the wall. After all, he'd lost his last three fights, hadn't fought since late 2023, and hadn't won since 2021.
'The Nigerian Nightmare' rolled back the years, though, and dominated Buckley across five rounds. Usman landed four takedowns across the fight, bullied Buckley with brutal ground-and-pound, and left him busted open after a largely one-sided first round.
'New Mansa' did have some brief success on the feet in the third and fifth rounds, but it was only fleeting, as Usman simply outclassed him.
Before this fight, many fans figured the 38-year-old Usman might be nearing the end of his UFC career. Based on this, though, that couldn't be further from the truth.
If he can continue to fight like this, he could well give problems to any of the newer top-ranked welterweights like Ian Machado Garry and Shavkat Rakhmonov, and could even find himself back in the UFC title picture soon.
While this show wasn't a memorable one overall, it'll be hard to forget this showing from 'The Nigerian Nightmare'.