Usman questions judge’s decision on UFC OKC loss

Kamaru Usman is disappointed with one of the judges’ scorecards in his loss to Dricus Du Plessis.

Usman (21-5) faced fellow former Ultimate Fighting Championship champion du Plessis (24-3) in a middleweight tilt in the main event of UFC Oklahoma City. The latter landed more significant strikes from the onset, with barely any wrestling success for Usman. While the former welterweight king found a second wind in the later rounds, it was too little too late, and du Plessis earned a lopsided unanimous decision victory.

While he accepts the result, “The Nigerian Nightmare” is bewildered by one of the scorecards. Judges David Sutherland and Mike Bell scored the fight 49-46 in favor of du Plessis, while judge Sal D’Amato had it 50-45 for the former middleweight champ.

Usman finished strong in the final round and had a strong showing in the third frame as well. He can’t comprehend what D’Amato was watching and also revealed that his left eye was compromised in the second round, which made it difficult for him to assess the distance to shoot for takedowns. While du Plessis’ fist was closed in the punch that compromised Usman’s vision, the South African’s thumb appeared to graze the eye. However, the fight was resumed after a brief pause as the shot was deemed legal.

“I’m no sorry loser, but I mean, 50-45? What were the judges watching? He’s a big boy, and I knew he was going to be tough.” Usman said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “I said it all week. He is a tough dude. Early on, I think it was a punch or a thumb, or kind of one of those weird punches where you get the thumb in the eye. So, it was tough for me to kind of gauge the distance and really commit to getting in on getting the legs. But he is a tough dude… Hats off to him.”

Usman was coming off a unanimous decision win over Joaquin Buckley at welterweight that saw him rebound from a three-fight slump. In the same post-fight interview, he revealed that dropping back down to 170 pounds remains an option after he picked up his second defeat at 185 pounds.