UFC on ESPN: Usman vs. Buckley

UFC on ESPN: Usman vs. Buckley
The poster for UFC on ESPN: Usman vs. Buckley
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	June 14, 2025 (2025-06-14)
Venue	State Farm Arena
City	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Attendance	17,204 [1]
Total gate	$3,239,744 [1]
Event chronology
UFC 316: Dvalishvili vs O'Malley 2 UFC on ESPN: Usman vs. Buckley UFC on ABC: Hill vs. Rountree Jr.

UFC on ESPN: Usman vs. Buckley (also known as UFC on ESPN 69) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 14, 2025, at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. ^[2]

Background

The event marked the promotion's fifth visit to Atlanta and first since UFC 236 in April 2019. ^[2]

A welterweight bout between former UFC Welterweight Champion (also The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians welterweight winner) Kamaru Usman and Joaquin Buckley headlined the event. ^[3]

A light heavyweight bout between Alonzo Menifield and Oumar Sy took place for this event. ^[4] They were previously scheduled to meet at UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Brady in March but Sy had to withdraw due to an injury. ^[5]

A light heavyweight bout between Paul Craig and former interim LFA Light Heavyweight Champion Rodolfo Bellato took place at this event. ^[6] They were originally scheduled to compete at UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. Morales one month prior, but the bout was cancelled during the event as a result of Bellato having a herpes infection. ^[7]

A women's flyweight bout between former LFA Women's Flyweight Champion Jamey-Lyn Horth and Tereza Bledá was scheduled for this event. ^[8] However, Bledá withdrew from the fight due to a staph infection and was replaced by former LFA Women's Strawweight Champion Vanessa Demopoulos. ^[9]

Ricky Simón was scheduled to face Charles Jourdain in a bantamweight bout at this event. ^[10] However, Jourdain withdrew during fight week due to an eye injury and was replaced by Cameron Smotherman. ^[11]

Results

Main card (ESPN / ESPN+)
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Welterweight	Kamaru Usman	def.	Joaquin Buckley	Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 49–46, 48–47)	5	5:00
Women's Flyweight	Rose Namajunas	def.	Miranda Maverick	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28)	3	5:00
Middleweight	Edmen Shahbazyan	def.	Andre Petroski	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28)	3	5:00
Bantamweight	Raoni Barcelos	def.	Cody Garbrandt	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Middleweight	Mansur Abdul-Malik	vs.	Cody Brundage	Draw (majority) (19–19, 19–19, 18–20)	3	0:36	[a]
Light Heavyweight	Alonzo Menifield	def.	Oumar Sy	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Preliminary card (ESPN+)
Light Heavyweight	Paul Craig	vs.	Rodolfo Bellato	No Contest (illegal upkick)	1	4:59	[b]
Welterweight	Michael Chiesa	def.	Court McGee	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28)	3	5:00
Bantamweight	Malcolm Wellmaker	def.	Kris Moutinho	KO (punch)	1	2:37
Flyweight	Jose Ochoa	def.	Cody Durden	KO (punches)	2	0:11
Bantamweight	Ricky Simón	def.	Cameron Smotherman	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28)	3	5:00
Welterweight	Philip Rowe	def.	Ange Loosa	TKO (punches)	3	4:03
Women's Flyweight	Jamey-Lyn Horth	def.	Vanessa Demopoulos	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00

1. Originally a technical decision (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) win for Abdul-Malik due to an accidental clash of heads rendering Brundage unable to continue. Overturned in accordance with GAEC regulations which prohibit scoring incomplete rounds. The judges' scores for the two completed rounds were 19–19, 19–19, and 18–20.
2. An accidental illegal upkick rendered Bellato unable to continue.

^[12]

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. ^[13]

• Fight of the Night: Kamaru Usman vs. Joaquin Buckley
• Performance of the Night: Malcolm Wellmaker and Jose Ochoa

Reported payout

The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission. It is important to note the amounts do not include sponsor money, discretionary bonuses, viewership points or additional earnings. ^[14]

• Kamaru Usman: $300,000 (no win bonus) def. Joaquin Buckley: $150,000
• Rose Namajunas: $500,000 (includes $250,000 win bonus) def. Miranda Maverick: $125,000
• Edmen Shabazyan: $186,000 (includes $93,000 win bonus) def. Andre Petroski: $100,000
• Raoni Barcelos: $102,000 (includes $51,000 win bonus) def. Cody Garbrandt: $275,000
• Mansur Abdul-Malik: $28,000 (includes $14,000 win bonus) def. Cody Brundage: $65,000
• Alonzo Menifield: $250,000 (includes $125,000 win bonus) def. Oumar Sy: $26,000
• Paul Craig: $125,000 vs. Rodolfo Bellato: $12,000
• Michael Chiesa: $300,000 (includes $150,000 win bonus) def. Court McGee: $83,000
• Malcolm Wellmaker: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus) def. Kris Moutinho: $14,000
• Jose Ochoa: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Cody Durden: $63,000
• Ricky Simón: $166,000 (includes $83,000 win bonus) def. Cameron Smotherman: $14,000
• Phil Rowe: $110,000 (includes $55,000 win bonus) def. Ange Loosa: $30,000
• Jamey-Lyn Horth: $50,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus) def. Vanessa Demopoulos: $65,000

Aftermath

On July 23, 2025, in response to an appeal filed by Cody Brundage, the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission (GAEC) overturned the initial technical decision loss originally attributed to Brundage following a headbutt that rendered him unable to continue. The bout against Mansur Abdul-Malik was subsequently declared a majority draw, in accordance with GAEC regulations which prohibit scoring incomplete rounds. The judges' scores for the two completed rounds were 19–19, 19–19, and 18–20. ^[15]

See also

• 2025 in UFC
• List of current UFC fighters
• List of UFC events

References

1. Mike Bohn (2025-06-15). "UFC on ESPN 69 post-event facts: Can Kamaru Usman catch Neil Magny's all-time wins record?" . Retrieved 2025-06-15.
2. Tristen Critchfield (2025-04-05). "UFC announces return to Atlanta on June 14". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2025-04-06.
3. Farah Hannoun (2025-04-25). "Joaquin Buckley draws former champion Kamaru Usman in June UFC Fight Night 257 headliner". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2025-04-25.
4. Jeepiboyg (2025-03-21). "Oumar Sy returns: a victory to enter the Top 15?". lasueur.com. Retrieved 2025-03-21.(in French)
5. Nolan King (2025-02-13). "UFC newcomers to battle Alonzo Menifield, Nursulton Ruziboev in Seattle". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
6. Guilherme Cruz (2025-05-22). "Paul Craig vs. Rodolfo Bellato rescheduled for UFC Atlanta after herpes scrapped previous fight". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2025-05-23.
7. Alexander Behunin (2025-05-18). "Rodolfo Bellato reacts being pulled from UFC Vegas 106 co-main event - 'Never thought herpes would take me out'". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2025-05-18.
8. Mike Heck (2025-04-02). "Jamey-Lyn Horth vs. Tereza Bleda set for UFC Atlanta". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2025-04-02.
9. David Suchý (2025-06-03). "The bad luck continues. Czech fighter had to cancel another fight in UFC". sport.cz. Retrieved 2025-06-04.(in Czech)
10. Jay Anderson (2025-05-08). "Ricky Simon vs. Charles Jourdain scheduled for UFC Atlanta". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2025-05-08.
11. Garrett Kerman (2025-06-10). "UFC Atlanta: Charles Jourdain Out, Cameron Smotherman steps in against Ricky Simon". clutchpoints.com. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
12. "UFC on ESPN: Usman vs. Buckley". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2025-04-18.
13. Chris Taylor (2025-06-15). "UFC Atlanta Bonus Report: Kamaru Usman and Joaquin Buckley earn FOTN honors". bjpenn.com. Retrieved 2025-06-15.
14. Martin, Damon (2025-06-16). "UFC Atlanta salaries: Rose Namajunas leads all fighters with $500K payday". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
15. Damon Martin (2025-07-23). "Cody Brundage loss to Mansur Abdul-Malik overturned by Georgia commission". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2025-07-23.