In Brief
- Kamaru Usman says he is seriously considering retirement after his lopsided loss to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC Oklahoma City.
- The former welterweight champion spoke on the “Pound 4 Pound” podcast, saying he wants to talk with his team before deciding.
- At 39, this setback is his fourth in his last five fights.
Kamaru Usman no longer rules out the possibility of stepping away from competition. Beaten by unanimous decision in the main event of UFC Oklahoma City against Dricus Du Plessis, the Nigerian-American fighter told the “Pound 4 Pound” podcast, co-hosted by former champion Henry Cejudo, that retirement was now an option he was taking seriously.
“See If It’s Worth Continuing”
“Right now, I have to sit down with the coaches, sit down with the team, evaluate everything,” Usman said. “Evaluate where I am in my career. And ultimately, see if it’s worth continuing to do this. If it’s worth continuing to put them through this.” The former welterweight champion explained that his previous losses had each, in some way, left him with something positive to build on, which was not the case this time.
“This one was hard, because I felt like I didn’t do that,” he added. “For those other fights, there was something to build on behind them. Here, to an untrained eye, it looks like I bit off more than I could chew. Even if I don’t necessarily feel that way from the inside, that’s what it looked like, and I don’t like that.” Usman cited, by comparison, his KO loss to Leon Edwards, his loss to Khamzat Chimaev on short notice, and the third fight of his trilogy against Edwards, as performances he was still satisfied with despite the result, unlike his showing against Du Plessis.
A Torn Pectoral, Revealed During the Show
It was also during that same show that Henry Cejudo revealed Usman had fought Du Plessis with a torn pectoral, an injury that weighed on his performance. Usman, however, did not want to use it as an excuse: “I understand, Henry, but that’s how it is,” he replied, refusing to downplay his South African opponent’s performance.
Usman had long reigned over the welterweight division, stringing together title defenses before losing it to Leon Edwards and never fully regaining that dominant-champion status in his attempts to reclaim it. His loss to Du Plessis, who has historically fought at middleweight, adds further uncertainty about which weight class he might continue his career in, should he decide to keep fighting.
There is no rush on the former champion’s calendar: no date has been set for his next outing, nor for the announcement of his decision. The fighter said he wants to take time to think it over rather than give in to pressure to decide immediately, after a career that saw him become one of the defining names in the division’s history.
A Fourth Setback in Five Fights
This loss to Du Plessis, scored by the judges 50-45 and twice 49-46 in favor of the South African, is Usman’s fourth in his last five fights, a ratio that raises questions about the rest of his career at 39. He nonetheless earned a Performance of the Night bonus despite the loss, praised for his commitment in a fight that went the distance. “It’s just as tough a position when you’ve accomplished so much, with so many high points in this sport,” he said. “When you start feeling the low points, it’s not very pleasant (…) It puts you in a really difficult position to make a complicated, and potentially final, decision.”
A former undisputed welterweight champion and one of the most dominant fighters of his generation in the division, Usman has so far announced no official decision and says he wants to consult with those close to him before deciding on the rest of his career.
To place these fighters in the hierarchy, see the current UFC rankings, and for upcoming dates, the 2026 UFC schedule.
