Tag: Joaquin Buckley

Joaquin Buckley Down for a Clash with ‘Chaos’ If Usman Isn’t Interested: ‘I’d Definitely Take That Fight’

Joaquin Buckley Down for a Clash with 'Chaos' If Usman Isn't Interested: 'I'd Definitely Take That Fight'If Joaquin Buckley can’t finagle a fight with Kamaru Usman, he’s willing to settle for Colby Covington. ‘New Mansa’…

Joaquin Buckley Down for a Clash with 'Chaos' If Usman Isn't Interested: 'I'd Definitely Take That Fight'

If Joaquin Buckley can’t finagle a fight with Kamaru Usman, he’s willing to settle for Colby Covington.

‘New Mansa’ extended his unbeaten streak to five at UFC 307, securing a third-round knockout against Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson and launching himself into the welterweight division’s top 10. Immediately following the win, Buckley called for a clash with former titleholder Kamaru Usman, a statement he echoed during a recent interview with Luke Thomas.

Joaquin Buckley

“I really don’t expect him to push for that fight just because of how difficult the fight might be for him,” Buckley said. “I’m still working on things, but I really feel like when it comes to the standup, I don’t think Usman really has anything for me.

“I think my cardio and pace is definitely gonna challenge him and usually he’s the one that’s pushing that narrative on his conditioning, but I think that I can push my conditioning past Usman at this point in my career.”

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If Usman isn’t interested, Joaquin Buckley would welcome a fight with ‘Chaos’

Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like Usman is much too interested in a fight with Buckley. Of course, ‘New Mansa’ already has another name in mind that could help him break into the division’s top five. That being three-time welterweight title challenger Colby Covington.

“The last fight that he had was against Leon [Edwards] and that was about a year ago,” Buckley said of Covington. “Time ain’t on nobody’s side so if you really want to show the world what you’ve been up to and how you’ve been working, you got to fight. You know that I’m happy to go and find out myself too with Colby Covington if he’s not got a fight lined up.

“I’d definitely be willing to take that fight. That’s somebody that has fought for the belt, has proven himself, highly ranked in the division for 170, so why not?”

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2019 was the last time Covington has fought twice in a single year. Since then, he’s barely averaged one fight per year, going 2-2 in the process. But despite the bouts of inactivity and the lack of notable wins, ‘Chaos’ is still holding strong as the sixth-ranked contender in the division making him a prime target for outliers looking to fight there way towards a shot at gold.

Joaquin Buckley Open To Fighting Different Former Champ If Usman Rejects Callout

Joaquin Buckley earned his biggest win to date at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City to extend his welterweight winning streak to five. “New Mansa” became just the second man to stop Stephen Thompson with strikes in the UFC after exploding forward in the third round. Buckley, who has been criticized for his post-fight call […]

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Joaquin Buckley earned his biggest win to date at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City to extend his welterweight winning streak to five. “New Mansa” became just the second man to stop Stephen Thompson with strikes in the UFC after exploding forward in the third round.

Buckley, who has been criticized for his post-fight call outs in the past, had one name in mind that seemed to go down well with the fans and media. He called to face former champion Kamaru Usman who has been inactive since his short notice bout with Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 last year.

The #9-ranked contender hasn’t received the response that he would’ve wanted but fortunately for him, he has names other than Usman on his hit list.

In a recent interview with Luke Thomas, Buckley gave his thoughts on the rest of the welterweight top ten where some big fights could be coming soon.

After speaking about the upcoming title fight in his division at UFC 310, the former middleweight weighed in with his take on a potential fight between the undefeated Ian Machado Garry and the former interim champion Colby Covington.

This is a fight that Garry was pushing for heavily at one stage but despite several replies from Covington, never got any closer to happen and as a result, “Chaos” hasn’t fought since his disappointing performance at UFC 296.

Buckley said that due to the name and ranking that Covington still holds at 170-pounds, this is a fight that would interest him if the Usman match-up doesn’t happen. Thomas initially asked “New Mansa” whether in his opinion, Covington is “washed” at 26-years old considering his lack of activity.

“That’s a question for him to answer to but my thing is, the last fight that he had was against Leon Edwards and that was about a year ago now, so time ain’t on nobody’s side. If you really want to show the world what you up to and what you’ve been doing and how you been working, you got to take a fight. I’m happy to find out myself too with Colby Covington if he ain’t got nothing lined up.”

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Joaquin Buckley Fires Back At Usman’s ‘Get In Line’ Advice

Joaquin Buckley recently retaliated against Kamaru Usman’s dismissive reaction to his callout for a potential matchup. Buckley secured the most significant victory of his career thus far with a stunning third-round knockout of former welterweight title challenger Stephen Thompson at UFC 307 last weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah. With this victory, “New Mansa” extended […]

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Joaquin Buckley recently retaliated against Kamaru Usman’s dismissive reaction to his callout for a potential matchup.

Buckley secured the most significant victory of his career thus far with a stunning third-round knockout of former welterweight title challenger Stephen Thompson at UFC 307 last weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah.

With this victory, “New Mansa” extended his winning streak to five fights and wasted no time calling out Usman during his post-fight interview, making it clear that he’s ready to enter the mix for title contention.

However, earlier this week, in an episode of the Pound4Pound podcast, “The Nigerian Nightmare” brushed aside Buckley’s callout but left the door open for a potential fight down the line, stating, “Take a number and get in line.”

Buckley Seeks Title Eliminator Match With Usman

During a recent interview with Parry Punch, Buckley addressed Usman’s dismissal of his callout. “New Mansa” pointed out that, aside from the reigning UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad, no one else has stepped up to challenge Usman. However, even Muhammad has shifted his attention to his first title defense against Shavkat Rakhmonov.

“That’s the funny thing; who’s in line?” Buckley said. “The crazy part about Belal was, like, Usman doesn’t even deserve a title shot. Plus, he said Shavkat is an easier fight than Usman, and that’s what I believe the UFC is going to make: the Shavkat vs. Belal fight. The thing with Usman is nobody calls him out, and he’s still a great name. The last fight he had was with Khamzat [Chimaev], so it’s been a whole year. Come and get this word; come and get paid at least.”

Buckley further emphasized that being a former champion doesn’t guarantee Usman an immediate title shot, especially after experiencing a string of losses. The 30-year-old Missouri native proposed that “The Nigerian Nightmare” should instead face him in a #1 contender’s bout.

“Just because you’ve been a former champion and held the belt for a significant amount of time doesn’t give you the right to come back and say, ‘All right, I get to fight for the belt again.’ You’re still not accounting for those three losses you’ve had. So prove to the world that you still have the ability to fight for a belt. With me having five wins and three finishes right now in the goddamn welterweight division, I feel like you can sell that idea. If Kamaru Usman beats me, boom, he can fight for the title.”

Usman is currently navigating the most challenging phase of his career, enduring a three-fight losing streak. The former UFC welterweight champion’s last appearance in the Octagon was at UFC 284 in October 2023, where he suffered a narrow majority decision defeat to Khamzat Chimaev in a welterweight matchup on short notice.

Continue Reading Joaquin Buckley Fires Back At Usman’s ‘Get In Line’ Advice at MMA News.

‘Get In Line’ – Kamaru Usman Laughs Off Joaquin Buckley’s UFC 307 Callout

Joaquin Buckley did the unthinkable at UFC 307 by becoming only the second fighter ever to knock out Stephen Thompson. He tried to grapple the veteran striker from the get-go. but “Wonderboy” could get back to his feet quickly every time. Based on the official scorecards, the third round would’ve decided the winner of the […]

Continue Reading ‘Get In Line’ – Kamaru Usman Laughs Off Joaquin Buckley’s UFC 307 Callout at MMA News.

Joaquin Buckley did the unthinkable at UFC 307 by becoming only the second fighter ever to knock out Stephen Thompson. He tried to grapple the veteran striker from the get-go. but “Wonderboy” could get back to his feet quickly every time.

Based on the official scorecards, the third round would’ve decided the winner of the fight but Buckley sealed the deal with an overhand right. Interestingly, it was similar to the overhand superman punch Anthony Pettis landed to knock out Thompson five years ago.

“New Mansa” called out Kamaru Usman after the victory but it seems like the former champ has no intentions of entertaining that fight…

Kamaru Usman Admits Joaquin Buckley’s Calling Him Out At UFC 307 Was Better Than The Conor McGregor Callout

In the latest Pound 4 Pound with Kamaru & Henry podcast, Henry Cejudo asked Usman about Buckley calling him out after the impressive KO win at UFC 307. The American fighter is now 5-0 at welterweight and is clearly riding an impressive win streak.

However, “The Nigerian Nightmare” outright laughed at the callout and asked Buckley to get in line since the latter’s not the only welterweight to call out the former kingpin recently.

“Take a number and get in line! I believe he’s probably, what, the 10th, 11th guy? I don’t know how many guys have called me out. It is what it is. It’s obviously, like DC said, it’s a more reasonable callout for him because he is on the streak. He’s been doing good work inside there. I believe he was losing that fight and it was just a way to be relentless and find the shot, eventually, to get that finish. So, you know, hats off to him.”

However, Usman gave Buckley his props for winning against “Wonderboy” in the best way possible. He also agreed with Daniel Cormier that this was a much more sensible callout than his last fight.

From the looks of it, Buckley will have to yet again wait for his dream opponent. A couple more memorable wins would make him an undeniable title challenger, though.

Continue Reading ‘Get In Line’ – Kamaru Usman Laughs Off Joaquin Buckley’s UFC 307 Callout at MMA News.

5 Fights We Need to See After UFC 307

Alex Pereira took out another dangerous contender at UFC 307, but his toughest test as light heavyweight champion is probably still to come. Pereira was back…

Alex Pereira took out another dangerous contender at UFC 307, but his toughest test as light heavyweight champion is probably still to come. Pereira was back…

Stephen Thompson Releases First Statement After Knockout Loss To Joaquin Buckley At UFC 307

Stephen Thompson and Joaquin Buckley fought in the UFC 307 prelims and after two competitive rounds, “Wonderboy” was knocked out in the third. This was just the second KO/TKO loss of his career. Interestingly, Buckley took out Thompson with a leaping overhand right preceded by a literal jump. Five years ago, Anthony Pettis launched himself […]

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Stephen Thompson and Joaquin Buckley fought in the UFC 307 prelims and after two competitive rounds, “Wonderboy” was knocked out in the third. This was just the second KO/TKO loss of his career.

Interestingly, Buckley took out Thompson with a leaping overhand right preceded by a literal jump. Five years ago, Anthony Pettis launched himself with the help of the cage and knocked out the Karate specialist with a similar bouncing superman punch.

The former UFC welterweight title challenger was doing great until he wasn’t, though. Here’s what he said after the crushing KO loss at UFC 307…

Stephen Thompson Looks Back At First KO Loss To Anthony Pettis As Joaquin Buckley Used A Similar Technique At UFC 307

“Wonderboy” took to Twitter recently to discuss his second UFC loss in a row. He admitted to not remembering how he got to the hotel and was humble in defeat as usual.

The veteran simply wanted to thank the fans for their continued support. Salt Lake City is known for its energetic crowd which, contrary to many other venues, shows up even before the main card begins. UFC 307 was no different, and Thompson seemed delighted with the fans cheering during his walkout.

The American fighter also pointed out that both KO losses in his career resulted from overhand rights. While Pettis used the Octagon to gain momentum, Buckley backed up “Wonderboy” against the cage to land the knockout punch.

“Just got back to the hotel, although we don’t know how I got here. But again, I get knocked out by an overhand. Once by Pettis, either on the cage or off the cage. Either way, it is what it is. I want to say thank you to all of my fans. You guys really showed out for me as I walked out there. You guys have shown me so much support over the years and I really do appreciate it.”

Based on the scorecards revealed later, it seems like the third round would’ve decided the outcome of the fight. Derek Cleary had it 19-19 going into the third while Sal D’Amato and Stephen Faragher had it 20-18 for Buckley and Thompson, respectively.

Continue Reading Stephen Thompson Releases First Statement After Knockout Loss To Joaquin Buckley At UFC 307 at MMA News.