Kamaru Usman may have fallen short against Dricus du Plessis at UFC Oklahoma City, but the former UFC welterweight champion isn’t dwelling on excuses. Instead, he’s already looking ahead to the next opportunity.
Usman moved up to middleweight to face du Plessis in Saturday’s main event, hoping a statement victory would place him firmly in the title conversation at both 170 and 185 pounds. However, the former middleweight champion proved too much over five rounds, earning a clear unanimous decision victory.
Despite the loss, Kamaru Usman showed his trademark toughness. He battled through adversity for 25 minutes and even managed to take the fifth round on two judges’ scorecards. That late surge became even more impressive after Usman revealed he suffered a significant eye injury early in the fight.
“I couldn’t get going,” Usman said during the post-fight press conference. “He was big, he was strong, he was rangy. So, it was a little tough to get going. I took kind of a thumb-punch in the eye early on, and that kind of blurred the vision a bit. But no excuses. It is what it is.”
The former champion admitted the injury severely affected his ability to react to du Plessis’ attacks throughout the fight.
“I was pretty compromised,” Usman added. “Like I said, he’s a big boy, and when you start seeing two of the big boys, and he’s got kind of weird, rangy shots. So it’s a little delayed to get out of the way of those shots, seeing them. But no excuses. It’s tough to be on this side. I’m not used to being on this side. So yeah, it kind of sucks.”
The eye injury wasn’t the only challenge Kamaru Usman faced heading into the fight.While he declined to reveal specific details, Usman suggested he entered the bout dealing with physical issues that impacted his performance. Still, he emphasized that fighting through adversity has been a constant throughout his career.
“My ability to do what I want kind of surprised me,” Usman said. “Because like I said, each and every fight, we’re dealing with something, but you guys never hear of it. Especially with me, because most of the time I come out here and I’m victorious, so you never hear about what I’m dealing with coming in.
“But when you’re dealing with something, and it kind of hinders you and your ability to go out there and do exactly what you want to do, fight the way that you know you can fight, it kind of sucks a bit.”
“Oh, I’m dealing with something every time,” Usman said. “Most fighters deal with something all the time, and we overcome it. Most of my career, deal with something, overcome, go out there and you get the dub, and you guys never hear of it. Just like you won’t hear of this one.”
The defeat leaves Kamaru Usman outside the immediate title picture, but the former champion isn’t ruling anything out.
Throughout his UFC career, Usman has built a reputation for stepping up when opportunities present themselves. He pointed to previous short-notice fights as examples of how quickly fortunes can change in mixed martial arts.
“We’ll see where there’s next opportunities at,” Usman said. “Listen, opportunities always come up, like taking on Khamzat Chimaev on eight, seven days’ notice, whatever that was — opportunity came up. Masvidal on six days’ notice — opportunity came up.
“And there’s been a couple of little ones that didn’t necessarily materialize that I’ve kind of almost jumped in line for. So, opportunities always come up, and look, Michael Bisping was middleweight champion of the world. Let’s not forget that opportunity came up, he jumped on it, he was a middleweight champion.”
Following the loss, Kamaru Usman shared his first public comments on social media and made it clear that he remains grateful despite the setback.
“Gratitude is the attitude. Grateful for another opportunity to ride this roller coaster,” Usman wrote on Instagram.
“Thankful for my team, family, friends, and fans. Back to the drawing board we go. Big thank you to my team!”
The message suggests that retirement isn’t on Usman’s mind anytime soon. Instead, the former welterweight king appears determined to regroup and continue chasing big fights.
Before facing du Plessis, Usman snapped a three-fight losing streak with a victory over Joaquin Buckley at UFC Atlanta. That win reignited discussions about another title run, and while his middleweight experiment didn’t go as planned, Kamaru Usman remains one of the biggest names in the sport.
For now, the former champion will return to the drawing board and wait for the next opportunity. If his career has proven anything, it’s that counting out Kamaru Usman is rarely a wise move.
