Maverick also made three appearances in 2024, posting wins over Andrea Lee, Dione Barbosa, and Jamey-Lyn Horth to extend her winning streak to four. The 27-year-old has long been viewed as someone that could make a push towards the top of the division, and if she’s going to do so, the time is now.
READ: May’s Monthly Report
There was a ton of action and movement in the division at UFC 315, with another critical bout taking place this past weekend, and so if either of these ranked athletes wants to ensure they are included in the next round of critical bookings, they need to grab a victory at State Farm Arena. Will Namajunas bounce back and show she’s still a threat or can Maverick collect the biggest win of her career?
Kamaru Usman vs Joaquin Buckley
Former champ Kamaru Usman returns to take on surging contender Joaquin Buckley in this fascinating main event pairing in Atlanta.
The 38-year-old Usman hasn’t fought in 20 months, and hasn’t earned a victory since his decision win over Colby Covington at UFC 268. After losing the title to Leon Edwards at UFC 278, Usman came up just short in the rematch before earning a similar majority decision loss in a short-notice middleweight pairing against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 in October 2023.
Buckley moved to welterweight five months before Usman’s last fight, and in the time the ex-champ has been away, “New Mansa” has emerged as a contender. The St. Louis native posted four wins last year, capping things off with a dominant win over Covington in a fight that was stopped due to a cut, but had largely been one-way traffic up to that point.
