Kamaru Usman
“The Nigerian Nightmare”
#9 WelterweightRecord 21-4NigeriaKill Cliff FC / Onx Sports
The style
Wrestle-Boxer
NCAA DII champion wrestler · Jab-led pressure · 89% takedown defense
GrapplingStriking
Former welterweight champion with five title defenses and the division's record 15-fight UFC win streak — once the pound-for-pound No. 1. An NCAA Division II national champion wrestler polished into a suffocating jab-and-clinch boxer under Trevor Wittman. He snapped a three-fight skid by handling Joaquin Buckley in June 2025, and at 39 makes his full-camp middleweight debut. His only fight at 185 was a short-notice majority-decision loss to the same Chimaev who beat du Plessis.
Tale of the tape
| Record | 21-4 |
| Age | 39 |
| Height | 6'0" |
| Reach | 76" |
| Stance | Switch |
| Country | Nigeria |
| Team | Kill Cliff FC / Onx Sports |
The numbers
Career UFC averages.
| Sig. strikes landed / min | 4.16 |
| Striking accuracy | 51% |
| Sig. strikes absorbed / min | 2.67 |
| Striking defense | 55% |
| Takedowns / 15 min | 2.79 |
| Takedown accuracy | 44% |
| Takedown defense | 89% |
| Submission attempts / 15 min | 0.1 |
How they win
9 KO/TKO1 SUB11 DEC
How they lose
1 KO/TKO1 SUB2 DEC