On a night where none of the 10 fights went to the scorecards, it seems somehow fitting that one of the stars of the night was a guy with the last name Usman.
Kamaru Usman is the UFC Welterweight Champion, the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, and one of the greatest MMA fighters in history.
His younger brother, Mohammed, doesn’t have his reputation or fame, but he did make a bit of history on Saturday. He knocked out former Houston Texans practice squad member Zac Pauga 36 seconds into the second round at the Apex in Las Vegas to win the heavyweight division on “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 30 . In the process, the Usmans became the first sibling group to win TUF.
Kamaru Usman, who won Season 21 at welterweight in 2015, was in his younger brother’s corner on Saturday. Mohammed Usman’s last name may have helped land him on the TUF cast, but once he got there, he created his own success.
With former WBC heavyweight boxing champion Deontay Wilder watching from ringside, Mohammed Usman cracked Pauga with a left hook to the chin to end things early.
It earned him a UFC contract three years after the tragic death of his 3-year-old son, Nash, who accidentally drowned.
“It means the world to me” to win TUF for his son, Usman said. “He means the world to me and he’s the reason I’m here right now. Don’t get me wrong, man. I could sit here and tell you it’s easy, but it’s not. It hurts me every day of the my life. It hurts me now sitting here talking about this. I know he wants me to have a good life. He wants me to take care of my children that I will have in the future [as well as] my current children. He wants it to be a blessing to them.
“That’s No. 1. I’m just trying to be the best parent I can be and show my kids and my future kids that there’s nothing you can’t achieve in this world if you put your mind to it.”
He has existed in his brother’s shadow for much of this time, working diligently while serving as Kamaru’s hype man for his fights. But he set his sights on winning TUF and getting a UFC deal and he did it in a big way.
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Mohammed Usman of Nigeria prepares to fight Zac Pauga in a heavyweight bout during UFC Fight Night at Apex on August 6, 2022 in Las Vegas. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Mohammed Usman put on a show on Saturday, but he wasn’t the only one. Each of the 10 fights ended in a finish, just the second time in UFC history that has occurred.
Geoff Neal overcomes slow second round, angry coach
Geoff Neal was brilliant in the first round of his welterweight fight with Vicente Luque. Neal landed 52 significant punches in the first round, rocking Luque repeatedly with a straight left hand. Neal was powerful, precise and in control.
But in the second, he took his foot off the gas and it was a more even round. It is, he said, a problem he has often. His trainer at Fortis MMA, Sayif Saud, knew this and let him know after the round. Saud got in Neal’s face during the break and told him in no uncertain terms to get going.
“I have a tendency to pull out the second round, especially when I have a tough first round,” Neal said. “I’m just saying, ‘Let me see if I can get through this round and come back for the third,’ but that’s silly of me.”
Neal hurt Luque with a bottle straight left that sent him to the cage. Neal then landed eight consecutive left uppercuts before the fight was stopped at 2:01 of the third.
Jamahal Hill is fourth after tied for third
Thiago Santos knocked out Jamahal Hill five times in the third round of the main event in a lightweight battle. But Hill, who calls Apex “Sweet Dreams Stadium” because of his success there, wasn’t discouraged.
He suspected Santos would be tired by the third part of the fight, when he knocked Hill down five times in 11 attempts. Hill came out quickly in the fourth and hurt Santos.
He dropped him and finished him off with a vicious ground and pound. Referee Herb Dean stopped it at 2:31 of the quarter as Hill was elbowing Santos.
“I don’t stop working,” Hill said. “That’s what I’ve learned from my coaches and what I’ve learned from my team, just keep working.”
Hill entered the bout ranked 10th at light heavyweight, with Santos ranked sixth. He hopes for a title shot next against champion Jiri Prochazka, but said if it doesn’t happen, he wants former champion Jan Blachowicz, who is the No. 2 seed.
Juliana Miller wins the TUF flyweight title
Juliana Miller went a perfect 4-for-4 in takedowns Saturday to dominate Brogan Walker and win the TUF 30 flyweight title via third-round TKO. He stopped Walker with elbows to the head from mount at 3:57 in the third and final round.
It was a dominant performance from Miller, who had 9:40 of control time in 13:57 of fight time.
Miller was 54 of 85 of his meaningful attacks, connecting on 63 percent, in addition to a perfect effort on takedowns.
The highlight was the head KO of Bryan Battle
Former TUF winner Bryan Battle had perhaps the most memorable moment of the night. He needed only 44 seconds to stop Takashi Sato in their bout, knocking out Soto with a kick to the head.
Battle said that in camp, he and his coaches realized that Sato was vulnerable to head hits.
“It’s something we’ve been waiting for,” he said. “I didn’t see it happening so soon. That was probably the most beautiful strike I’ve ever made.”
After the fight, he called out both Bryan Barberena and Ian Garry to a fight.