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By Matthew Couden
Contributing Writer
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Kamaru Usman headed into UFC Fight Night 281 hoping to begin a winning streak after having previously defeated Joaquin Buckley in another UFC Fight Night last June on ESPN.
Unfortunately, Dricus du Plessis put on a better performance across five rounds in Oklahoma City a week ago and won via unanimous decision. The recent loss makes for four losses in his last five fights, and that has Usman now considering whether he wants to end his MMA career.
"Listen, I'm just right now I have to just sit with the coaches, sit with the team, assess kind of everything and assess the place where I'm at in my career, and just overall see if it's worth continuing to do this," Usman said on "Pound 4 Pound."
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"Because listen, I've never really gone out there and not represented them appropriately," he added, regarding his team and coaches.
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After starting his career 1-1, Usman rose to prominence with a 19-fight winning streak, which saw him capture the Welterweight Championship and successfully defend it against opponents Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal two times each.
August 2022 brought that streak to a halt and ended his reign as champion as he lost to Leon Edwards at UFC 278. He attempted to reclaim the championship from Edwards at UFC 286 in London, England, but that was also unsuccessful.
A loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 in October 2023 and the more recent UFC Fight Night loss in OKC added to his lack of success in his past five fights. At age 39, "The Nigerian Nightmare" is also at the point that a lot of fighters might opt for retirement, especially after the career he's had.
Commenters on the X clip of Usman had various reactions with some agreeing he should retire, and others giving their opinion on him still being able to win fights.
"I think DDP and Strickland are the only two middleweights Usman loses to," one commenter wrote.
"He needs to retire before someone knocks him out again Dricus took pity on him," another X commenter said.
Another commenter suggested there are "too many killers" for welterweight and heavyweight for Usman to contend with, and without a championship, he'd fail to get "big money fights."
"Only stay if you want to be the liaison for the new generation of fighters at 170/185," the commenter suggested.
That seems like a smart option for Usman if he wants to extend his career a bit longer and try to win more fights. However, walking away at this point wouldn't be a bad thing. He currently holds a 21-5 record, which is still respectable, and he's considered one of the top all-time welterweights with Georges St-Pierre and Matt Hughes.
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