UFC Atlanta preview: ‘Usman vs. Buckley’ main, co-main event predictions

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is just one day away from the upcoming UFC Atlanta mixed martial arts (MMA) event, set to go down tomorrow night (Sat., June 14, 2025) on ESPN and ESPN+ at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. UFC Atlanta features a welterweight main event between former 170-pound champion Kamaru Usman and fast-rising division contender Joaquin Buckley, a five-round showdown with serious title implications for late 2025 and beyond.

Before we dive into the main and co-main event, which includes the women’s flyweight collision between former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas and 125-pound bruiser Miranda Maverick, check out Andrew Richardson’s “X-Factor” breakdown for the rest of the UFC Atlanta main card by clicking here. Get all the latest “Usman vs. Buckley” odds and betting props courtesy of FanDuel right here. For UFC Atlanta live results for this weekend’s fight card in the “Peach State” click here.

getting shot up with mystery injections to keep his knees from exploding, according to the rumor and innuendo.

“I’m good,” Usman said during the UFC Atlanta media day. “It’s funny because that’s a running knock — knees, knees, knees! They don’t realize [my] knees were [actually] worse in my first fight in the UFC. My first fight, I was coming in right off the back of a microfracture surgery. Doctors say that’s about an eight-month recovery, and I fought four months after the surgery. I don’t think people realize that it was worse before. I know it’s a running joke, everyone likes to joke about it but I’ve been beating people’s asses with [these] knees. So it is what it is. They can say whatever they want. Saturday, we’re going to get in there, he’s going to punch me, I’m going to punch him, and we’re going to see who wins.”

Usman won the welterweight title by defeating Tyron Woodley at UFC 235 and his 170-pound title reign consisted of victories over Colby Covington, Gilbert Burns, and Jorge Masvidal. That’s it, just three opponents. It feels like more because he fought “Chaos” and “Gamebred” twice, the went on to face Edwards in a pair of consecutive defeats. When you consider how poorly Covington, Burns, and Masvidal have performed in recent years, it’s hard to feel optimistic about Usman’s chances in Atlanta. The division got old, which led to the rise of Jack Della Maddalena, Ian Garry, and Joaquin Buckley, among others.

Buckley was an inconsistent middleweight with flashes of brilliance but didn’t really shine until dropping to welterweight at UFC Vegas 73, where he summarily destroyed Andre Fialho with a second-round head kick. That was the first of six straight wins, with five of them ending by way of knockout. At 31, “New Mansa” is competing in his athletic prime and his performance against Covington, who is sort of like Diet Usman, may have been a precursor of what to expect when he collides with the former welterweight champion tomorrow night in “The Peach State.” I can’t imagine Usman will want to spend extended periods of time on his feet against a dynamic striker like Buckley, though he may struggle to ground “New Mansa,” who stops 73 percent of the takedowns that come his way.

“To be honest with you, I don’t think there’s no difference from the Kamaru of old and the Kamaru of now,” Buckley said during the UFC Atlanta media day. “I think it’s the same fighter, which I believe is still dangerous and a person who can still give a lot of guys a lot of problems at the welterweight division. You realize losing to a person like Leon, who obviously took his belt and who obviously was a champion at the moment. Then also, Usman being able to go out on 10 days’ notice and fight Khamzat, you’ve got to respect that. Even with him taking those L’s, I really feel like it wasn’t much of a loss for him, as it was a setback. With that being said, he’s been able to fine-tune his technique, as he says, and be able to work on whatever injuries he’s got. So I’m just expecting the best version of himself when he steps out there.”

I’m not rushing to count Usman out because he’s got so much experience at the championship level and I doubt cardio will be an issue for a lifelong athlete like “Marty from Nebraska.” I just don’t know how Usman lasts 25 minutes without getting plunked. It was a lot easier against the likes of Covington and Masvidal, neither of whom had the speed or power of Buckley. The best case scenario for Usman fans is that “New Mansa” squanders his striking opportunities by looking for the flashy, Impa Kasanganay-type knockout, giving “The Nigerian Nightmare” ample time to rack up points through mug-and-slug offense. The more plausible scenario is that a dialed-in Buckley takes advantage of an old and slow ex-champ who waited too long to come back.

Prediction: Buckley def. Usman by knockout

UFC.com. “Obviously, I know a lot of people and critics will be like, ‘Ah, she’s not the same at flyweight as she was at strawweight,’ and maybe the results haven’t been quite the same. I am definitely not the same. I feel like I am better in a lot of ways. I am definitely more mature and stuff like that. I’m just at a different place in my life, and [fighters] have put me through mental battles and struggles, [maturing me through those challenges]. So, as much as people care about the fighting, results, and stuff — I do too — but the spiritual strength I have in my life right now outweighs anything. I know it sounds crazy or cliché, but I really do feel better, and I hope to show that in this fight.”

Miranda Maverick has been competing inside the Octagon for nearly five years, making her debut with a technical knockout victory over Liana Jojua at UFC 254. After losing back-to-back decisions to Maycee Barber and Erin Blanchfield — two of the best flyweights in the division — Maverick went on a torrid 6-1 run and is currently the winner of four straight. During that stretch, “Fear the” (awful nickname) racked up nearly 20 takedowns and has never lost a UFC fight when she’s been ahead in the wrestling. It’s worth pointing out that Namajunas has been taken down eight times across her last three fights but won two of them, so Maverick will need to do more than just lay and pray if she hopes to secure the victory. Working in her favor is the fact that she only needs to win two rounds in this 15-minute affair, so a well-timed takedown could steal a round for impressionable judges.

“It feels amazing, it’s almost no pressure, you know, because Rose and I have trained together, we know exactly what each other’s gonna try to do,” Maverick said during the UFC Atlanta media day. “So it’s been a hard camp. We’ve been pushing through this camp like no other, ready for all the pressure that we know Rose is gonna throw our way. It’s just gonna be a game of fight IQ and tenacity and mental toughness, I think, at the end of the day. I’m excited. (Namajunas has) been an inspiration for the longest time, a friend I would call her, and now a rival. We’ll go back to being friends after this fight.”

Maverick will definitely be able to get Namajunas to the ground; however, “Thug” is a strong offensive wrestler as well and may be able to limit how much wrestling Maverick can rely on throughout their co-headlining contest. Namajunas already holds a major advantage on the feet — she’s clearly the superior striker — and enough tools on the ground to make it competitive. This should be an easy 30-27 when all is said and done.

Prediction: Namajunas def. Maverick by decision

Be sure to check out the rest of the UFC Atlanta main card predictions RIGHT HERE.

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WELTERWEIGHT CROSSROADS! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) crashes State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, on Sat., June 14, 2025, with UFC Atlanta. Former 170-pound champion, Kamaru Usman, collides with fast-rising knockout artist, Joaquin Buckley, in a blistering main event mashup scheduled for five, five-minute rounds. In UFC Atlanta’s co-main event, former strawweight titleholder, Rose Namajunas, locks horns with grizzled 125-pound veteran, Miranda Maverick, setting the stage for an explosive showdown in the women’s flyweight division.

Don’t miss a single second of face-punching action!

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Atlanta fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card matches at 7 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining UFC Atlanta main card balance on ESPN and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Atlanta news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archives here and here. For the updated and finalized “Usman vs. Buckley” fight card and ESPN/ESPN+ lineup click here.