Atlanta – More than 17,000 fight fans descended on State Farm Arena in the heart of downtown for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first event in the city since 2019.
It was a big night of fights Saturday, as UFC fans made their presence known. From the first fight to the last, the 17,204 people at State Farm Arena were loud. During the first fight, there was loud “U-S-A” chants, and during the main event fans cheered for both Kamaru Usman and Joaquin Buckley.
Saturday’s Fight Night was the second-highest grossing gate in North America in UFC history, bringing in $3,239,744, according to a social media post by the UFC and parent company TKO Group.
Main Card
Main eventing Saturday’s card was a former UFC welterweight champion and No. 1 ranked pound-for-pound fighter, Kamaru Usman, taking on a fighter who seemed nearly unstoppable in Joaquin Buckley.
Before the bell even rang, the tension was present in the octagon. Weeks of smack talk leading up to the bout, and the deafening noise of the crowd, set the stage for the main event, with both men refusing to shake hands while continuing to stare the other down.
The fight began with striking from both men as they looked to find their range. Then Usman did what he is well known for – wrestling. Over the course of the fight, Usman landed four takedowns and spent almost 13- of the 25-minute fight in control on the ground.
Usman did damage on the ground with punches and elbows that opened a cut on Buckley. Usman, a former Division II wrestler, used the ground game to his advantage and controlled the fight.
As the fight went on, both men landed big shots late looking for a knockout. They both dealt and received big shots, but their chins held up.
Usman out-struck and out-grappled Buckley, leading to the judges ruling in his favor. With the win, Usman snapped Buckley’s six-fight win streak.
In the five-round fight, Usman landed 137 strikes, while the aggressive Buckley only landed 51.
Usman was emotional in both his interview in the octagon after the fight and in his post-fight press conference. He gave props to Buckley for his toughness, but said he didn’t care about Buckley’s smack talk and distractions.
He added that he wants the winner of current UFC welterweight champ Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Mackachev, who is moving up from being lightweight champion looking for another belt.
Former champion Belal Muhammad quickly got on X (formerly Twitter) after the fight saying he wanted a go at Usman. Alas, Usman quickly dismissed it, only eyeing a title shot. He hinted at wanting Mackachev to win the welterweight title so the current No. 1 ranked pound-for-pound fighter could go up against a former top-ranked pound-for-pound fighter.
In the co-main event, former women’s flyweight champion Rose Namajunas took on a former training partner in Miranda Maverick. It was a three-round, semi-grudge match between two good, well-rounded fighters.
Both fighters had shining moments on the feet and on the ground. Maverick landed 52 total strikes, while “Thug” Rose landed 46, with both fighters landing 25 significant strikes.
Namajunas landed two takedowns and spent more than six minutes in control on the ground. While grappling, Maverick transitioned and went for a submission but was unsuccessful.
Two judges scored the contest 30-27, with one scoring it 29-28, to give Namajunas the unanimous decision victory. Her win snapped Maverick’s four-fight winning streak.
In Namajunas’ post-fight press conference, she gave props to the of Maverick’s aggressiveness. She added that she would love a title shot in her quest to regain UFC gold.
In a social media post Sunday, Maverick said she tore her ACL in the second round of the fight.
In a middleweight bout, Edmen Shahbazyan took on Andre Petroski. Shahbazyan used his striking to earn the unanimous decision win Saturday night.
Shahbazyan landed 58 total strikes to Petroski’s 34. Petroski landed two takedowns, but Shahbzyan was able to quickly get the fight back on the feet.
In a bantamweight fight, former champion Cody Garbrandt took on Raoni Barcelos.
In yet another fight that went the distance, Barcelos earned a unanimous decision. Barcelos had more than two minutes of control time on the ground and landed 37 significant strikes for the win.
Both men were looking for a knockout, but their toughness showed. Barcelos earned a third straight win while handing Garbrandt a second straight loss.
In the second fight on the main card, Mansur Abdul-Malik remained undefeated with an odd technical decision win over Cody Brundage. The bout was fought almost completely on their feet, yet despite landing more strikes, Brundage lost.
The fight ended with 36 seconds into the third round after an accidental head butt. Abdul-Malik thought he had earned the knockout, but upon review there was an accidental head butt, so they went to the judges scorecards.
In the first fight on the main card, Alonzo Menifield won a close fight to hand Our Sy his fight professional loss.
On an 11-fight win streak, Sy entered the fight as one of the biggest betting favorites on the card. Menifield did enough on the feet to earn the win through his striking, despite landing fewer than Sy. Sy also landed a takedown and was in control on the ground for more than four minutes.
All three judges scored the contest 29-28 to give Menifield the victory.
Earning the Fight of the Night bonus was the main event between Usman and Buckley. Wellmaker and Jose Ochoa earned Performance of the Night bonuses for knockout wins on the prelims. Each bonus earned the fighters an extra $50,000.
UFC is set to return to the Southeast on Saturday, July 12, when heavyweights Derrick Lewis and Tallison Teixeira will battle in Nashville, Tenn.