Should Kamaru Usman retire? Analyzing his recent decline

Kamaru Usman suffered a listless unanimous decision loss to Dricus du Plessis at UFC Fight Night 281. It marked his return to the middleweight division since a majority decision loss to Khamzat Chimaev, and left 'The Nigerian Nightmare' with such a bad taste in his mouth that he is now considering retirement. The question, though, is whether Usman is overreacting or being honest about his current capabilities?

Kamaru Usman's recent run: A career crossroads

At one point, Kamaru Usman was atop the MMA mountain. He was the UFC welterweight champion, with five successful title defenses and a near-historic 15-fight win streak. He was so dominant, in fact, that there was even talk of him skipping the middleweight division altogether to ply his trade at light heavyweight in his own bid for two-division championship status. Unfortunately for him, those days are long gone. Instead of wondering whether he has surpassed the legendary Georges St-Pierre as the greatest welterweight of all time, the question is now whether he should continue fighting? That question stems from the fact that Usman is now 1-4 in his last five fights and 39 years old.

🚨📊 Kamaru Usman is now ranked No.11 Middleweight in official UFC Meta AI list.

He's coming off a loss to Dricus Du Plessis. pic.twitter.com/jyM7YrhbrY

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) July 22, 2026

The losing streak began with a jaw-dropping knockout against Leon Edwards at UFC 278. Besides the first round, during which Edwards became the first fighter to take Usman down in the UFC, it was a fairly dominant affair for Usman, who used his wrestling to control the bout. However, with just one minute remaining in round five, Edwards unleashed a thunderous head kick that knocked Usman out cold. The pair had a rematch a year later at UFC 286, and Edwards beat Usman more comfortably, neutralizing most of his wrestling and outstriking him en route to a majority decision win. After two back-to-back losses, Usman moved up to middleweight on short notice to face the then unbeaten Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294.

The fight was more competitive than expected, with Usman surviving a lopsided round one to later defend Chimaev's takedowns and turn the bout into a striking match that ended in controversy, with a majority decision win in Chimaev's favor. He followed his three-fight losing streak by going on a two-year hiatus, before returning to the welterweight division against Joaquin Buckley at UFC on ESPN 69. The matchup was a return to form for Usman, who outwrestled Buckley for five rounds. However, his success didn't last. His unanimous decision win over Buckley was followed by a return to middleweight, where he faced ex-middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis at UFC Fight Night 281 in what turned out to be his worst-ever performance.

Check out Dricus du Plessis hurting Kamaru Usman:

DRICUS DU PLESSIS WOBBLED KAMARU USMAN WITH A HEAD KICK

DDP IN FLOW STATE RIGHT NOW #UFCOKCpic.twitter.com/NSyMukQW20 https://t.co/N2xYqOuc4y

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) July 19, 2026

Not only did du Plessis manage to wobble and hurt Usman several times, he also neutralized his wrestling and physicality, making Usman look sluggish and old. In the end, Usman lost via unanimous decision and did not look himself. He may be too small for middleweight, which limits him to welterweight bouts moving forward. However, he's almost 40 years old, and the only other win he has managed since 2021 is against Buckley, who is on a two-fight losing streak and at the bottom of the top 10. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' won't get any better now than he was prior, and from a skill standpoint, he was never that elite. Instead, he made up for it by being more physical than his opponents, which will only become more difficult as he ages.

If he's seriously considering retirement, he should commit to it, as the only alternative is continuing to fight and racking up more losses that only serve to ruin his legacy.