The UFC returns to Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday, June 14, for the UFC Fight Night card at State Farm Arena. In the main event, former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman looks to end a three-fight losing skid against the surging 170-pounder Joaquin Buckley, who is unbeaten in his past six UFC outings. Meanwhile, in the UFC Atlanta co-main event, former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas meets Miranda Maverick in a flyweight bout. Below, we look at those two fights and the six other bouts the UFC has officially announced for the UFC Atlanta fight card.
UFC Atlanta Fight Card: Official Fights
Kamaru Usman vs. Joaquin Buckley:Welterweight
Rose Namajunas vs. Miranda Maverick:Women’s flyweight
Michael Chiesa vs. Court McGee:Welterweight
Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Cody Brundage:Middleweight
Tereza Bledá vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth: Women’s flyweight
Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Andre Petroski: Middleweight
Cody Durden vs. Jose Ochoa: Flyweight
Alonzo Menifield vs. Oumar Sy: Light Heavyweight
UFC Atlanta Fight Card Date:
Saturday, June 14
UFC Atlanta Fight Card Location:
State Farm Arena in Atlanta, GA
UFC Atlanta Tickets:
On Sale on Friday, May 2
UFC Atlanta Main Event: Kamaru Usman Vs. Joaquin Buckley
UFC CEO Dana White announced the matchup between Kamaru Usman and Joaquin Buckley on Instagram Live last week.
Kamaru Usman (20-4) began his UFC career in 2015 when he won season 21 of The Ultimate Fighter with a submission of Hayder Hassan. Usman represented the Blackzillians team during the season, while Hassan was from American Top Team.
Usman was 5-1 heading into TUF.
After his win over Hassan, Usman ran off eight straight wins. Racking up victories over notable names like Leon Edwards, Sean Strickland, Demian Maia, and, in November 2018, Rafael dos Anjos.
The win over Dos Anjos earned Usman his second “Performance of the Night” bonus and his first since he defeated Hassan. More importantly, the victory made him the No. 2 spot in the official UFC welterweight rankings and a March 2019 matchup against then-UFC 170-pound champ Tyron Woodley.
Usman took the belt from Woodley via decision in the co-main event of UFC 235.
Usman defended his title five times, beating Colby Covington (twice), Jorge Masvidal (twice), and Gilbert Burns. His run with the UFC 170 belt ended in August 2022 when Leon Edwards, who was behind 39-37 on all three scorecards, knocked out Usman with a perfectly timed and placed head kick with under one minute left in the five-round battle.
Usman has only fought twice since losing his title, dropping a decision to Edwards by majority in a rematch in March 2023 and most recently falling to Khamzat Chimaev in a middleweight scrap by majority decision in October 2023.
The 37-year-old Usman is the No. 4 fighter in the official UFC welterweight rankings.
Joaquin Buckley (21-6) is the No. 7 fighter in the UFC’s 170-pound weight class. The 30-year-old Buckley is on quite a run since dropping and staying at welterweight in 2023.
Buckley is 6-0 during his current welterweight run, with four knockouts and two decision wins. He has already fought four times in 2024, picking up a knockout win over Vicente Luque, a decision victory over Nursulton Ruziboev, and a knockout over two-time UFC title challenger Stephen Thompson. Buckley ended his impressive run in 2024 with a TKO win over former UFC welterweight title challenger Colby Covington in December.
Buckley joined the UFC in August 2020 after stints with Bellator and LFA. He went 5-4 as a UFC middleweight, scoring one of the most memorable knockouts in UFC history when he stiffened Impa Kasanganay with a spinning back kick in October 2020.
His run at 185 pounds ended in December 2022 after losing back-to-back outings to Nassourdine Imavov and Chris Curtis.
We will have more on the upcoming UFC Atlanta card as the UFC Fight Night event approaches, including previews, odds, and predictions.
