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UFC Legend Claims Kamaru Usman Borrowed Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Game-Changing Technique to Overwhelm Buckley

Originally posted on The SportsRush | By Ross Markey | Last updated Jun 17, 2025 5:03 PM ET

Long compared to ex-UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov for his dominance during his prime, Kamaru Usman has taken a leaf from the Russian’s playbook for his return, according to the veteran Chael Sonnen.

Snapping a near two-year hiatus from action last weekend, Usman did so in a dominant fashion. Handing the surging Joaquin Buckley his first defeat since embarking on a six-fight winning spree, the Nigerian snapped his own losing streak in the process.

Landing a dominant, unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) victory over the St. Louis native in their UFC Atlanta headliner, Usman made his intentions clear to remind the division of his ability during his sidelining from action.

“Oh, his knees, his knees. Well, shut the f*ck up, I could still do what I do,” Usman said during his post-fight interview. “The rest of the welterweight division, listen. I have been and always will be the f*cking boogeyman.”

Tangling and tossing Buckley around the Octagon through rounds one to four in their headliner, Usman was back to his dominant best. And as far as Sonnen is concerned, the Auchi native has clearly been inspired by ex-lightweight champion, Nurmagomedov.

“Everything was against Kamaru,” Sonnen said on Good Guy/Bad Guy. “And for him to operate that efficiently. And it was very technical, by the way, like when Khabib would get guys down. “Khabib would always entangle their legs,” Sonnen added. “And Khabib kind of innovated that in our sport. We never really saw some of these lockdowns and traps that Khabib would do to keep a guy down. Kamaru Usman did the same thing. But he did it with head position every time he took (Joaquin) Buckley down.” Drawing links to Nurmagomedov, Usman has made clear his intentions to fight for welterweight spoils next. And he may even line up against the Russian’s protege.

Usman plays up Makhachev showdown

Seeing his retirement tour begin against Buckley over the weekend, Usman is back to winning ways for the first time since 2021. And he hopes to secure one final outing for gold before hanging up his gloves.

But he must lie in wait, it seems. Currently, newly minted champion Jack Della Maddalena is expected to take on soon-to-be ex-lightweight kingpin Islam Makhachev. And that’s as soon as later this year.

Hoping to fight his current Dominance MMA stablemate, Makhachev, before it’s all said and done, Usman has sights on one more “blockbuster” showcase in the Octagon.

“I do think Islam has the ability to do it (beat Della Maddalena), but it’s not going to be easy,” Usman told Kevin Iole before UFC Atlanta. “Fast forward, I mean, current pound for pound versus former pound for pound. I think that’s a blockbuster. That would be a great outing to go out there and get another blockbuster before I sail off.”

This article first appeared on The SportsRush and was syndicated with permission.

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