Kamaru Usman says early eye shot compromised vision vs du Plessis

Kamaru Usman says a punch to the eye in the second round left him seeing double for the remainder of his loss to Dricus du Plessis on Saturday.

The former welterweight champion dropped a clear unanimous decision to du Plessis in the UFC Oklahoma City main event, struggling to find his range against the bigger former middleweight titleholder over 25 minutes. Usman told reporters afterward that his vision was severely compromised after taking what he described as a thumb-punch early in the fight.

"I took kind of a thumb-punch in the eye early on, and that kind of blurred the vision a bit," Usman said at the post-fight press conference, per MMA Fighting. "I was pretty compromised. When you start seeing two of the big boys, and he's got kind of a weird, rangy shots, it's a little delayed to get out of the way of those shots."

Usman hints at undisclosed injury heading into fight

The 37-year-old also suggested he entered the bout dealing with an unspecified issue, though he declined to elaborate. Usman said he typically overcomes such setbacks in fights he wins, but this time the combination of factors made it difficult to execute his game plan. He won the fifth round on two scorecards despite the adversity.

Moving forward, Usman said he will remain open to big opportunities at either welterweight or middleweight. He referenced past short-notice bouts against Jorge Masvidal and Khamzat Chimaev as examples of how quickly the right fight can materialize. The loss puts him outside the immediate title picture at both 170 and 185 pounds.

Original reporting:

• mmafighting.com — Kamaru Usman was compromised early against Dricus du Plessis after a punch to the eye: ‘That kind of blurred the vision a bit’ | MMA Fighting