Mohammed Usman and Zac Pauga square off at the UFC Fight Night: Santos vs Hill in a heavyweight matchup on 7 August 2022. The fight will be available for fans on UFC Fight Pass. Usman, the younger brother of welterweight champ Kamaru Usman, earned hard-fought decision wins over Mitchell Sipe and Eduardo Perez to advance to the final pairing.
Mohammed Usman has impressed fans with his massive physical specimen combined with a gentle spirit and an 8-2 record. The 33-year-old looks to follow his brother’s path to claim UFC gold, with the first step coming this weekend.
A former professional football player who traditionally competes at light heavyweight, Pauga collected a dominant decision win to advance to the semifinals, where he stopped fellow Team Pena fighter Jordan Heiderman to reach the finale. The Elevation Fight Team member is 6-0 in his career and has a unanimous victory over former UFC competitor Markus Perez.
This is a compelling stylistic battle, as Usman has clear advantages in terms of size and pure physicality. Still, Pauga is the more fluid, more dynamic athlete, so it will be interesting to see which of those two wins out and who will get their hand raised this weekend.
About the author
Hari Bhagirath is the former Chief Creative Officer at BRAVE Combat Federation. Currently, he heads Strategic Relations and Financial Communication for a major Fortune 100 organization. He is also the co-founder of Totem Capital, a private wealth management initiative.
