Mohammed Usman: Nigerian UFC star suffers loss to Thomas Petersen

Two heavyweight fighters entered the octagon in Las Vegas to start the UFC Vegas.

Mohammed Usman, a mixed martial artist from Nigeria, went into the match hoping to win again after suffering a defeat against Mick Parkin back in March.

The 2023 Contender Series product facing him, Thoams Petersen, was also coming off a loss.

Earlier in the year, Petersen lost to Jamal Pouges by a unanimous decision in his first game after receiving the promotion.

Both men started the fight slower as they tried to gauge the distance from the outside.

Usman opened the scoring with a well-placed jab that Petersen parried.

Thomas attempted to look to start a grappling match, briefly grabbing a front head hold before letting go of it.

Usman kept moving his feet and delivered a few outside blows.

Petersen was able to land a handful of punches on an evading Usman a few minutes into the round.

Petersen landed a few strikes, took a front headlock, and landed a knee to end the round.

Every time Usman hit a boxing combination, Thomas would still advance, giving the impression that he was uncomfortable.

Usman immediately returned to the jab to start the second round, but Petersen quickly countered with a combo.

Usman's head snapped back as Petersen delivered another thudding left hand.

Petersen executed a takedown with success two minutes into the round.

Usman was able to execute a technical standup to get back up, and when he did, his attacks appeared more laborious.

Petersen was again able to land a significant strike to start the final round.

Usman attempted a few single shots, but Petersen repeatedly countered him.

Petersen was parrying, blocking, or slipping a number of Mohammed's jabs at this stage in the fight.

It appeared as though Peterson was dismantling Usman with just a minute remaining in the bout.

Petersen scored a critical takedown and then executed ground and pound with just a few seconds remaining in the bout.

After three rounds it went to the judges as they scored it a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) win for Peterson against Usman.