Kamaru Usman | Be Careful What You Wish For

"When I was kind of in that position, I wanted Georges St-Pierre so bad, and I kept calling for Georges. But it never materialized. But if I was Buckley and I still had a guy like myself in the division hanging around – well, as far as he thinks I’m 'hanging around' – of course, he's going to want that fight. He wants to challenge himself, and I appreciate it. I love it.

"I remember a time when people didn't want to fight me, and that was very frustrating and annoying. So, he can want what he wants, but it's my time, and it's my opportunity, my job, to be able to go in there and let him know that you've done a great job, but you're just not here yet."

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The rise of a new generation of contenders at 170 pounds has given the welterweight class a new look in 2025, with a new champion at the top of the division in Jack Della Maddalena, and a host of new contenders, including Ian Machado Garry, Sean Brady, Shavkat Rakhmonov, Michael Morales, and Buckley.

"It is exciting, because there's a lot of new guys, a lot of new blood, so I appreciate that," said Usman.

"But, like they say – I think Michael Chandler says it all the time – 'I'm not here for a long time. I'm here for a good time.' So whoever's across from me, we're gonna have a damn good time in that Octagon."

That "damn good time" will be shared with Buckley, who has risen up the welterweight division of the back of a string of impressive performances since dropping down from middleweight in 2023. Six wins later, he's stepping up to face Usman, and the former champ admitted he's been impressed with "New Mansa's" rise.

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"I think Buckley has done a great job with what he's been presented," he said.

"I can't take anything away from him. He's gone out there and earned an opportunity to be in a position to get a fight like this, and I remember that was something that, when I was coming up, getting a fight with the top guys, it was very, very difficult. So for him to get that opportunity, that means he's done something right. 

"So I respect it, but I still believe that there's a difference with the way that we fight, with the way that myself and the rest of the division fights. So Saturday is going to be on me to go out there and show the world that." 

Usman has taken some time away from the Octagon since his last fight – a majority decision loss to Khamzat Chimaev in a short-notice middleweight matchup at UFC 294. And during his time out, he's seen the division go through a period of change.

"I love it," he said.

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"For a while it was just like, 'Oh, the same guys again?’ But since my little sabbatical, we've got some new blood in there, a lot of new guys. And, of course, with new guys comes a new attitude and a new way of promoting and selling themselves and the fights. And it is what it is. 

"While I'm in it, it might not be the most tasteful for me, but I can't hate on it. I have to respect it. The guys are here at the top of the division, like Buckley, and I have to respect that."

With Buckley heading into the weekend with the hot hand and Usman looking to snap a three-fight skid, the momentum would appear to be in the blue corner on fight night. But Usman said that he'll be leaning on his big-fight experience as he looks to get an important win for this chapter of his career.

"I would say when the going gets tough is when experience kind of plays a factor. But each fight is a new opportunity. Each fight is big," he said, as he explained that, despite his career accomplishments, he still gets the same emotions and butterflies ahead of his fights.

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"You still have those nerves each and every time when you step in there, and, I'm just learning to accept and roll with the punches," he said.

"But yeah, being in arenas, doing all these spectacular things, it's almost like you're there, but you're not necessarily there because you're so dialed in. And so I think when we get in there, and he hits me, and I hit him, that's where we're going to start to see who's different."

Sometimes fighters head into fights determined to make an emphatic statement with a spectacular finish. And while Usman admitted he'd love nothing more than "a nice, flawless finish" on Saturday night, he said that the most important outcome, regardless of how it comes, is to make sure he goes home with the win.

"Getting the win is always enough," he explained.

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"We all want to be spectacular. We want to do it in that way. But it takes so much just to get in here. The work that you have to do just to be able to step inside that Octagon is so much, and to be able to best the other man is incredible. So, getting the win absolutely is enough. But, of course, we look to do it in emphatic fashion every time."

Victory in any form would serve as a reminder to the world that Usman is still a major factor at 170 pounds, and his championship aspirations haven't diminished as a result of him previously holding the belt. Having won it once, his sights are now set on becoming a two-time welterweight champion.

"I'm waiting for the that fight between JDM (Della Maddalena) and Islam (Makhachev), which is a fantastic fight. Both guys are extremely talented. Both guys are really, really good," he said.

"A fight with either one of those guys is going to be fantastic. A fight with myself and JDM – humongous fight. I know they probably want to do a stadium in Australia. I haven't been in the stadium yet. So, why not? And also a fight with the current pound-for-pound (Makhachev) and the former pound-for-pound. I think that's a blockbuster anyone would sign up for."

At 38 years of age, Usman could be considered a veteran of the game at this point in his career. But that tenure brings wisdom and perspective, and while he remains committed to chasing his professional goals, he's determined to enjoy the journey, even if that means embracing the contrasting emotions that go through a fighter in the lead-up to a big fight.

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"I'm in a place in my career and in my life where you understand that each and every moment, no matter how difficult, no matter how good or bad, is an opportunity, and understanding that once it's gone, it's gone; it's not there anymore," he said.

"So, understanding that it's an opportunity, you kind of approach it and see it a little differently. So, everyone excites me. Even now, going into the fight on Saturday, I'm nervous, I'm a little scared, I'm excited, and I'm anxious. So, all of these things wrapped up in one, I know, at the end of the day, it's still a blessing to have the opportunity to feel these things."