Kamaru Usman🇳🇬 (20-4) is a powerful high cardio forward pressure fighter who uses feints to draw out counters, his pin point jab in volume to set up his straight right, cross and leg kicks, and initiates the clinch where he controls opponents on the cage and effectively lands elbows and foot stomps to stifle momentum. He uses his elite wrestling to land athletic and usually perfectly timed single leg, double leg, body lock, and cage assisted takedowns where after on the mat he uses his great top control to look to land hard ground & pound and can scramble well along with effectively chain wrestling whenever opponents look to stand back up or reverse him. Kamaru is one of the best ever but is on a 3 fight losing streak coming off a 2 year plus layoff but to elite competition so I am really only worried about one thing, is his athleticism still there? Explosiveness is essential on the feet and ground, and if he is slower, this fight will be hard. Joaquin Buckley🇺🇸 (21-6) has been on a 6 fight winning streak since making the move to Welterweight after a 5-4 record in the UFC at 185. On the feet he uses forward pressure and utilizes solid footwork combined with athleticism to Maintain range, establish his jab, target the body, and land a variety of attacks with his legs like leg, body, and head kicks some of which may be spinning. What I find the most notable about his stand up is how he uniquely switches levels on the feet while ripping to the body and head neutralizes fighters ability to disrupt him on the feet, which has worked even against a legend like Wonderboy. In the grappling the most relevant factor for Buckley in this fight is his good takedown defense which currently stands at 73.5% and was most recently displayed against a comparable grappler who similarly shoots in volume like Usman in Colby Covington who Joaquin applied belt to basically from start to finish. Offensively, he shoots solid takedowns of his own where on the mat he prioritizes banking control time and staying safe on top. My pick is Buckley by decision.