On a night where none of the 10 fights made it into the results, it seems somewhat fitting that one of the stars of the night was a man with the last name of 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 made history on Saturday. He knocked out Zac Pauga, a former member of the Houston Texans’ practice squad, 36 seconds into the second round at Apex in Las Vegas to win the heavyweight title on Season 30 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” In the process, the Usmans became the first brothers to win TUF.
Kamaru Usman, who won Season 21 at welterweight in 2015, was in his younger brother’s corner on Saturday. Muhammad Usman’s last name may have helped him get into the cast of TUF, but once he got there, he created his own success.
With former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder watching from ringside, Muhammad Usman floored 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 everything to me” to win TUF for his son, Usman said. “He means the world to me and he’s the reason I’m here now. Don’t get me wrong, man. I could sit here and tell you it’s easy, but it’s not. I’m in pain every day of my life. It hurts right now to sit here and talk about it. 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 me to be a blessing to them.
“That’s the No. 1 thing. I’m just trying to be the best dad I can be and show my kids and my future kids that there’s nothing you can’t achieve in this world if you’re did it.”
He existed in his brother’s shadow for much of that time, working hard while serving as Kamaru’s hype man for his fights. But he decided to win TUF and win a deal with the UFC, and he did it in a big way.
The story continues
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)
Muhammad Usman put on a show on Saturday, but he wasn’t the only one. Each of the 10 fights ended in a finish, which has happened for only the second time in UFC history.
Jeff 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 meaningful punches in the first round, rocking Luque repeatedly with straight left hands. Neil was powerful, accurate and controlled the game.
But in the second he took his foot off the gas and the round was more even. He said this is a problem he often has. 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 go.
“I tend to get out of the second round, especially when I go into a tough first round,” Neal said. “I’m just saying, ‘Let me see if I can get through this round and come back in the third,’ but that’s just stupid of me.”
Neal hurt Luke with a great straight left that sent him into the cage. Neal then threw eight straight left uppercuts before the fight was stopped at 2:01 of the third.
Jamahal Hill rallied in fourth place after a lopsided third place finish
Thiago Santos knocked out Jamahal Hill five times in the third round of the main event in a light heavyweight fight. But Hill, who calls Apex the “Stadium of Sweet Dreams” because of his success there, wasn’t deterred.
He suspected Santos would be tired of the hard fought third when he took Hill down five times in 11 attempts. Hill came out fast in the fourth and hurt Santos.
He dropped it and finished it off with a vicious ground and punch. Referee Herb Dean stopped him at 2:31 of the fourth when Hill was elbowing Santos.
“I just don’t stop working,” Hill said. “That’s what I learned from my coaches and what I learned from my team, just keep working.”
Hill entered the bout ranked 10th at light heavyweight, with Santos ranked sixth. He is hoping for a title fight next against champion Jiri Prohazka, but said if that doesn’t happen he wants former champion Jan Blachowicz, who is the No. 2 seed.
Julianna Miller wins the TUF flyweight title
Julianna Miller went a perfect 4-for-4 in takedowns on Saturday to dominate Brogan Walker and win the TUF 30 flyweight title via third-round TKO. She stopped Walker with elbows to the head from a mount at 3:57 of the third and final round.
It was a dominant performance from Miller, who had 9:40 control time in 13:57 of the bout.
Miller landed 54 of 85 of her significant strikes, connecting 63 percent, in addition to a perfect takedown effort.
The biggest highlight was the KO of Bryan Battle with a head kick
Former TUF winner Bryan Battle had perhaps the most memorable moment of the night. He needed just 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 noticed that Sato was vulnerable to head shots.
“It’s something we expected,” he said. “I didn’t expect it to happen so soon. It was probably the most beautiful shot I’ve ever hit.”
After the fight, he challenged Brian Barberena and Ian Gary to a fight.
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