Kamaru Usman hadn’t fought at welterweight, hadn’t won a fight, and hadn’t collected a post-fight bonus in years.
He checked off all those boxes at UFC Atlanta.
In his first fight since October 2023, the former welterweight champion put on a dominant display, out-wrestling Joaquin Buckley for the better part of five rounds to earn a unanimous decision and snap a three-fight skid. Buckley showed spark in the fifth, finally getting his offense going and putting a scare in Usman, which was enough to push their bout to a Fight of the Night award and an extra $50,000 for both men.
This is the second Fight of the Night for Usman, who also won the honor for a five-round thriller in his first meeting with Colby Covington at UFC 245.
For Buckley, this is his first Fight of the Night, but he’s previously cashed out Performance of the Night bonuses five times.
A pair of up-and-coming prospects earned Performance of the Night bonuses, Malcolm Wellmaker and Jose Ochoa.
Wellmaker is now 2-0 in the UFC with two bonuses after scoring an unbelievable one-punch knockout of Kris Moutinho.
Ochoa bounced back from a disappointing loss in his UFC debut with a second-round drubbing of Cody Durden. The Peruvian prospect turned up the heat early in Round 2, blasting Durden with punches to end the fight 11 seconds into the frame.
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