Kamaru Usman questions 50-45 scorecard in UFC OKC loss

Kamaru Usman accepted his unanimous decision loss to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC Oklahoma City but questioned one judge's scoring of the bout.

The former welterweight champion dropped a lopsided decision to Du Plessis in Saturday's middleweight main event, with judges David Sutherland and Mike Bell both scoring it 49-46 for the South African. Judge Sal D'Amato, however, had the bout 50-45 in Du Plessis' favor, a scorecard Usman found difficult to comprehend given his performance in the later rounds. "I'm no sorry loser, but I mean, 50-45? What were the judges watching?" Usman told Daniel Cormier in his post-fight interview, as reported by Sherdog.

Eye injury impacted Usman's takedown attempts

Usman revealed that a second-round strike compromised his left eye and made it difficult to gauge distance for his wrestling attempts. While Du Plessis landed the punch with a closed fist, his thumb appeared to graze the eye during the exchange. Officials ruled the shot legal after a brief stoppage. "Early on, I think it was a punch or a thumb, or kind of one of those weird punches where you get the thumb in the eye," Usman said. "So, it was tough for me to kind of gauge the distance and really commit to getting in on getting the legs."

Du Plessis controlled the striking from the opening bell and largely shut down Usman's takedown game. The Nigerian-born fighter found success in the third and fifth rounds but could not overcome the deficit. Usman dropped to 21-5 with the loss, his second at middleweight after rebounding from a three-fight skid with a decision win over Joaquin Buckley at welterweight earlier this year.

Usman told Cormier that a return to 170 pounds remains on the table following back-to-back setbacks at 185.

Reported via:

• Sherdog — Kamaru Usman on UFC OKC loss: 'What were the judges watching?'