Former UFC champion Welterweight Kamaru Usman's turnout to the title contained a victory that annoys Joe Rogan to this day.
On the road to the Welterweight Ladder, Kamaru Usman defeated a whole series of legendary names when pursuing a UFC championship belt. But one of his early career victories has an asterisk next to it in the spirit of Joe Rogan.
Usman is considered one of the greatest UFC hunters of all time, and perhaps the greatest good weight in the illustrious history of promotion. His dominant welterweight title Reign contained victories over Jorge Masvidal, Colby Covington (twice) and Gilbert Burns while he was on top of the pound-for-pound mountain of the UFC.
What makes the title of Usman impressive is the power of the schedule that he conquered to pursue UFC Gold. This includes a victory over Grappling Legend Demian Maia in May 2018 who did not take place without any controversial moments.
Photo by Buda Mendes/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Kamaru Usman's Early UFC victory on Grappling Ace still disturbs Joe Rogan
Usman and Maia Kwadraaten in the main event of the UFC Santiago in a crucial matchup of two then Weldterweight contenders. The winner would get a step closer to a title shot against the then champion Tyron Woodley.
Usman and Maia wasted no time to get it in round 1, because the two top grapplers had a wild scrambling early. But in one of the biggest 'what is in the UFC history, Maia almost ended up, if it was not for a premature decision of referee Leon Roberts.
During a recent episode of the Joe Rogan experience, Rogan described which still makes him angry about the victory of Usman over Maia at UFC Santiago.
“To this day, the only fight that makes me the most crazy where a referee F – It is, Kamaru Usman and Demian Maia,” Rogan emphasized. “Because in the first round Demian Maia had the back of Kamaru Usman upright, had strung one leg, had his back, but it took too long and the referee separated them.
“And I am something like 'you m –—-, he is so close!'
Maia would not get so close to a finish if the five -round main event progressed, where Usman came to a unanimous decision victory. After beating Rafael Dos Anjos in his next fight after UFC Santiago, Usman Woodley on UFC 235 to become the UFC champion Welterweight.
Rogan repeatedly kept standing in his claim that Roberts made a terrible error by breaking out Usman and Maia while Maia came closer to sinking in a potential submission. Usman remained unbeaten in his UFC official period for a loss of Come-From-Behind Knock-Out for Leon Edwards on UFC 278.
Kamaru Usman is confronted with rising good weight in UFC Atlanta Return
Seven years after the Maia fight, Usman wants to break the first losing skid of his professional MMA career when he is facing Joaquin Buckley in UFC Atlanta in June. Usman lost back-to-back fights to Edwards for a simply middleweight defeat against Khamzat Chimaev on UFC 294.
Usman stands for a dangerous challenge in Buckley, who looked almost insurmountable since he previously made the full-time switch to Welterweight in his UFC career. Buckley has won recent victories on Covington, Vicente Luque and Stephen Thompson and is correct on the door of a potential title shot.
Usman will look to return the clock and prove that he will remain one of the most dangerous men in the UFC when he returns in June. But regardless of what happens at UFC Atlanta, Rogan will always have questions about one of Usman's most controversial victories.