Kamaru Usman contemplating retirement after UFC OKC loss

The MMA world might’ve seen the last of Kamaru Usman this past Saturday.

Usman (21-5 MMA, 16-4 UFC), a former UFC welterweight champion, is thinking about calling it a career following his failed return to the middleweight division. Usman was battered in a unanimous decision loss to Dricus Du Plessis (24-3 MMA, 10-1 UFC) last Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night 281 in Oklahoma City.

Nearing 40 and being 1-4 in his last four fights, Usman is starting to think the end is here.

“Right now, I have to sit with the coaches and the team and assess kind of everything and the place where I’m at in my career and, all in all, see if it’s worth continuing to do this, whether it’s worth continuing to put them through that,” Usman said on “Pound-for-Pound Podcast“. “Listen, I’ve never really gone out there and not represented them appropriately myself and my coaches. This one was a hard one because I felt I didn’t do that.

“The Khamzat (Chimaev) fight was like, ‘OK, I took that on a week’s notice, and if I would’ve had two more rounds, who knows what else could’ve happened.’ The Leon (Edwards), I think I represented myself well until I got the last minute take that kick to the head, and in the third Leon fight, I probably shouldn’t have been there, but I pushed it. I was like, ‘You know what? I’m hardheaded, and I’m going to go in.’ Halfway through that fight, I found myself again, so there was something to build off in those fights. This one was like, to the untrained eye, it looked like I bit off more than I could chew or something like that. It’s just a fair, honest assessment, even though I don’t feel that inside, it looked that way, and I don’t like that. I really have to go back, sit with the family and the team, assess, and decide.”

The loss to Du Plessis was the first time Usman was visibly damaged and beaten up. His prior defeats were lost in close, competitive decisions, and in the rematch loss to Edwards, he was clearly winning the fight until he got caught with a head kick. Prior to losing his belt to Edwards in 2021, Usman was regarded by many as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter. He was on a 19-fight winning streak and had five UFC title defenses.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Kamaru Usman contemplating retirement after UFC OKC loss