Joaquin Buckley is already fired up to face Kamaru Usman in the UFC Atlanta headliner. And if he manages to take out the welterweight legend, ‘New Mansa’ moves one big step closer to a title shot. But that’s not the endgame—far from it. The rising star has bigger plans in mind, including a potential move back to his old division. 

‘Young Buck’s middleweight journey hasn’t been all that great. He suffered two consecutive losses—first to Nassourdine Imavov, then Chris Curtis—before finally dropping down to welterweight and racking up six straight wins. Buckley still has the desire to move back up to 185 to test himself again, but before that, he knows he has to get past Usman and capture the title. And to push himself toward that goal, he’s taking inspiration from Kayla Harrison.

Joaquin Buckley aims to be the next American champ, following Kayla Harrison’s UFC 316 win

Kayla Harrison showed the world she might be the best female combat sports athlete right now. She ran through Julianna Peña using her clinch and submitted her in the second round to claim the bantamweight crown at UFC 316 pay-per-view event. Joaquin Buckley has taken that as major inspiration—aiming to bring another belt home for his country, just like she did. 

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‘Young Buck’ told TMZ Sports, “Even with my performances speaking for me. I have to get the fans behind me. Because there’s a lot of scenarios where, yet again, we would love to see an American champ, right? Right now, you only have Kayla Harrison as the only American champion, but I can truly believe that I can grab that strap for America and put on for the Nation.”

Joaquin Buckley has already become a fan favorite in America. His explosive fighting style has earned him a ton of supporters, and he gets loud cheers wherever he goes. Even in his last fight against Colby Covington in Tampa, ‘New Mansa’ received a massive pop—and Atlanta might not be any different. 

Buckley also enters the matchup as the favorite, and according to Michael Bisping, that could very well hold true against Kamaru Usman in the headliner. So, let’s see what the former middleweight champion has to say about this ultimate showdown. 

Michael Bisping picks Buckley to beat Kamaru Usman at UFC Atlanta

Buckley has shown serious strength inside the Octagon lately. ‘New Mansa’ has completely transformed himself into a wrecking machine since moving down to welterweight. That’s why many believe a 38-year-old Kamaru Usman won’t pose much of a problem for him. Michael Bisping agrees, saying the younger, fresher Buckley could be a real threat to the former champ.

‘The Count’, on his YouTube video, said, “This is a tough one for Kamaru Usman and I’ve got to lean toward Buckley in this one. I don’t know if Buckley is going to knock out Kamaru Usman. But the fact that he’s so young, he’s so motivated, and he’s athletically in his prime. I think it’s going to be a big problem for Kamaru Usman.”

That’s the common thought going into the fight—that beating Usman would be a cakewalk for Buckley. However, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ almost nicked the fight against Khamzat Chimaev last year. So, it needs to be taken into account that the former welterweight king can flip the script anytime. That being said, Buckley would still be the more favorable one because of his activity and recent performances.

So, what are your picks? Are you backing Joaquin Buckley’s steamrolling abilities or Kamaru Usman’s well-rounded fighting style? Let us know in the comments below.