UFC: Kamaru Usman responds to Joaquin Buckley call-out

Kamaru Usman has responded to Joaquin Buckley’s call-out in the aftermath of UFC Tampa, saying he does not mind who his next opponent is.

Buckley scored a third-round TKO win against Colby Covington on Sunday (AEDT) in Florida, extending his winning streak in the welterweight division to six and jumping to No.6 in the UFC rankings.

During his post-fight interview, he gave fans three names to choose from for his next opponent.

Usman’s received the most cheers, with Buckley determining that the Nigerian should be his next opponent.

“I don’t care who it is,” Usman said when questioned about the call-out this week.

“It’s almost like no one’s listening to what I’m saying.

“Shavkat [Rakhmonov], Belal [Muhammad], Ian [Machado Garry], Buckley, ‘JDM’ [Jack Della Maddalena], I don’t care who it is.

“I’ve gone through the division and then I started going through the division again, so it doesn’t matter.”

Usman — who has not fought since October 2023 — went on to emphasise that his main focus is getting healthy, with the welterweight having battled knee issues over the past 18 months.

“One thing that I won’t do because I’ve done it for so long and too much, which is partially why I’m having to take this layoff, is compete when I’m not ready,” he said.

“When I’m healthy, I’ll whoop every one of y’all, it doesn’t matter who it is.”

The 37-year-old former welterweight champion also complimented Buckley on his performance against Covington.

“I remember watching the fight and I’m going ‘Buckley did great’,” he said.

“Shout out to Buckley, he did great for being able to go through a guy like Covington.

“With Covington having that long layoff, I don’t know how he’s going to show up, but everybody knows as the fight gets later, Covington gets a little bit more comfortable.

“So, it was going to be how quick he was able to get the ring rust off and get going.

“Buckley didn’t really allow him to do that.”

Buckley headed to Tampa as a -250 favourite with UFC bookmakers and dominated the majority of the bout with superior striking and adept takedown defence.

His win by doctor’s stoppage paid out +140 at Marantelli Bet for those who backed KO/TKO as the method of victory.

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