UFC: Kamaru Usman, a failed comeback against Du Plessis and what next?
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All original articlesOn Saturday night into Sunday, Kamaru Usman returned to the octagon at UFC Oklahoma but was defeated by unanimous decision against the formidable South African Dricus Du Plessis after five rounds. At 39 years old, the Nigerian's future is more uncertain than ever, even though Dana White refuses to count him out.
Second defeat in the middleweight division
Nearly two years after his first fight in the middleweight division, which he lost to Khamzat Chimaev, Kamaru Usman still harbors ambitions of settling permanently in the -84kg weight class. It's a big risk for a 39-year-old athlete, but it matches the ambitions of the “Nigerian Nightmare,” who wants to add a world championship title in a new division before retiring, after having dominated the welterweights (-77kg).
Against Dricus Du Plessis, the challenge became even more significant, all the more so because “Stillknocks” was coming off a loss against Chimaev, who took his belt before losing it in turn to Sean Strickland. Nevertheless, the Nigerian started the fight timidly but woke up toward the end of the first round. This momentum remained until the final round, despite powerful punches and the low, middle, and high kicks from Du Plessis—whose footwork was as impressive as ever—which Usman absorbed.
With two minutes left in the final round, Kamaru Usman found renewed energy, buoyed by his fans, and landed two excellent crosses before unleashing a barrage of blows in the last seconds of the fight. But the South African giant, who largely dominated in the ring, was declared the winner by unanimous decision of the judges.
“Kamaru Usman has done enough in his career for the decision to be his,” Dana White
After this second defeat in the middleweight division, Kamaru Usman must now make a major decision for the future of his career. But right away, Dana White doesn’t see him hanging up his gloves despite being 39 years old.
“We’ve already seen fights where you thought: ‘Good grief, these guys should retire.’ That wasn’t the case here. This was clearly a very good fight, against a much larger opponent. He has an excellent chin and he still has what it takes. It's not as if you can say: ‘Usman is done and should retire.’ He fought a very good fight tonight,” said the UFC boss at a press conference.
Before leaving Usman entirely free to choose which division he wants to continue fighting in. “He has to go home, rest, recover, and figure out what’s next. He’s accomplished a huge amount and he literally just faced the number one or two best fighter in the world, who is much larger than him. I think Kamaru has done enough in his career for the decision to be his. Those are questions you have to ask him: how did he feel in this division and what does he want to do now? He’s not a young fighter who has yet to achieve anything—this guy has done it all.” added Dana White.
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