Tag: Joaquin Buckley

Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Ian Garry Official For UFC 310, Colby Covington Fills vs. Buckley

After a toe infection to Belal Muhammad forced the UFC welterweight champion out of UFC 310, the Dec. 7 card now has an answer to who will be headlining. Per an announcement from UFC CEO Dana White that dropped during Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, intended title challenger Shavkat Rakhmonov will no longer be competing […]

After a toe infection to Belal Muhammad forced the UFC welterweight champion out of UFC 310, the Dec. 7 card now has an answer to who will be headlining.

Per an announcement from UFC CEO Dana White that dropped during Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, intended title challenger Shavkat Rakhmonov will no longer be competing in the main event of UFC 310.

Tha Kazakh star has instead been moved to the co-main event slot and will face fellow undefeated contender Ian Garry in a five-round, non-title fight.

The UFC flyweight championship match between champion Alexandre Pantoja and his latest challenger, debutant Kai Asakura, has been promoted to the new UFC 310 main event.

Furthermore, as a result of Garry competing at UFC 310, Colby Covington will be filling in for him in the UFC Tampa main event on Dec. 14 against the Irishman’s originally booked opponent, Joaquin Buckley.

Garry Replaces Muhammad In UFC 310 Bout vs. Rakhmonov, Pantoja vs. Asakura Promoted To Main Event

Rakhmonov became next in line for the welterweight title after his finish of Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, as well as Muhammad’s title win against Leon Edwards at UFC 304. But “Nomad” will now have to put his shot on the line in a matchup with Garry.

The Irish rising star has fought twice in 2024, earning decision wins over Geoff Neal in February and Michael “Venom” Page four months later.

Garry and Covington, meanwhile, had been linked to face one another over the course of the last year due to intense hatred between the two seen across social media. “Chaos,” however, has previously stated that he does not feel “The Future” deserves a fight with him.

Covington is also on the outside looking in of the welterweight title picture, having not fought since his own disappointing outing against Edwards at UFC 296 last year.

Buckley, on the other hand, has won five straight, most recently knocking out “Wonderboy” at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City just last month.

‘I’m Coming to Take the Throne’ – Joaquin Buckley Challenges Shavkat Rakhmonov, Dismisses Ian Machado Garry’s Bid

‘I’m Coming to Take the Throne’ Joaquin Buckley Challenges Shavkat Rakhmonov, Dismisses Ian Machado Garry’s BidIf there’s going to be an interim title introduced at UFC 310, Joaquin Buckley wants to be one of…

‘I’m Coming to Take the Throne’ Joaquin Buckley Challenges Shavkat Rakhmonov, Dismisses Ian Machado Garry’s Bid

If there’s going to be an interim title introduced at UFC 310, Joaquin Buckley wants to be one of the men fighting for it.

Originally, reigning welterweight champion Belal Muhammad was scheduled to defend his title against Shavkat Rakhmonov at the promotion’s final pay-per-view event of the year. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case after ‘Remember The Name’ suffered a nasty bone infection.

Once the news became official, rumors began surfacing that the promotion was actively looking for a replacement opponent for Rakhmonov, potentially for an interim title opportunity.

Rising contender Ian Machado Garry quickly threw his hat into the ring, but does anyone really want to see that fight?

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Maybe, but ‘New Mansa’ isn’t one of them.

“Hey look, I’m going to let you finish but I’ve got something to say,” Buckley said in a video on Instagram while hitting a heavy bag. “Nobody wants to see that fight. People want to see knockouts. People want to see finishes. And that’s exactly what we’re fixing to bring, me versus Shavkat. He’s got 18 finishes, 10 subs, 8 knockouts, and your boy? I’ve got 14 knockouts, and I just knocked out my last two ranked opponents. So what you think I’m fixing to do to this dude?

“UFC, this is the fight y’all have got to make. Like I told y’all, I’m coming to take the throne, and I ain’t playing. Boom!” (h/t MMA Fighting).

Joaquin Buckley and Ian Garry look to parlay their undefeated streaks into a title opportunity

Buckley launched himself into the welterweight top 10 with a vicious third-round knockout of Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson at UFC 307 last month. With the win, ‘New Mansa’ moved his unbeaten streak to five, including three knockouts and two decisive decision victories.

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Meanwhile, ‘The Future’ is sitting two spots ahead of Buckley in the rankings, holding strong at No. 7. Garry got there thanks to eight-straight wins under the UFC banner. In his last three outings, Garry has scored Ws against division mainstays Neil Magny and Geoff Neal and also earned a big victory over former Bellator sensation and one-time bare-knuckle brawler Michael ‘Venom’ Page at UFC 303.

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Ian Garry Headlines UFC Tampa On Dec. 14, Misses Out On Colby Covington Fight

UFC welterweight Ian Garry will be headlining the upcoming event in Tampa, but not against the opponent he was hoping for. Garry (15-0), a former Cage Warriors champion and the current #7-ranked UFC contender at 170 pounds, has been calling to clash with Covington ever since the American failed to win the undisputed title for […]

Continue Reading Ian Garry Headlines UFC Tampa On Dec. 14, Misses Out On Colby Covington Fight at MMA News.

UFC welterweight Ian Garry will be headlining the upcoming event in Tampa, but not against the opponent he was hoping for.

Garry (15-0), a former Cage Warriors champion and the current #7-ranked UFC contender at 170 pounds, has been calling to clash with Covington ever since the American failed to win the undisputed title for the third time last December.

The Irishman’s campaign for that matchup continued after he got the better of Michael “Venom” Page at UFC 303 this past June. In a recent update, Garry claimed to have even been sent an offer to fight Covington in the main event of UFC Fight Night Tampa next month.

“The Future” put the hold-up down to the ex-interim champ, and should his claims be correct, the 36-year-old looks to have rejected the fight.

On Friday, the UFC confirmed that Garry will indeed headline the event in Florida on Dec. 14. But instead of Covington, the Dubliner will do battle with Joaquin Buckley (20-6) to close out the promotion’s 2024 schedule.

Garry’s International Fight Week triumph over Page marked his eighth straight since joining MMA’s leading promotion in 2021. His campaign this year started with a victory over Geoff Neal, who joined the likes of Daniel Rodriguez and Neil Magny on the Irishman’s résumé.

Buckley, meanwhile, has been fast-charging since dropping to welterweight following an inconsistent period at 185 pounds. A 5-0 run that includes wins over Vicente Luque and Stephen Thompson has seen “New Mansa” vault into the top 10, and he’ll now look to stake his claim for a first championship opportunity by blemishing “The Future’s” record.

The UFC Fight Night in Tampa will go down inside the Amalie Arena. The current fights expected to take place are as follows:

  • Ian Garry vs. Joaquin Buckley (welterweight main event)
  • Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas (women’s strawweight)
  • Dustin Jacoby vs. Vitor Petrino (light heavyweight)
  • Manel Kape vs. Bruno Silva (flyweight)
  • Tracy Cortez vs. Miranda Maverick (women’s flyweight)
  • Cub Swanson vs. Billy Quarantillo (featherweight)
  • Michael Johnson vs. Ottman Azaitar (lightweight)
  • Daniel Marcos vs. Adrian Yañez (bantamweight)
  • Piera Rodriguez vs. Josefine Knutsson (women’s strawweight)
  • Navajo Stirling vs. Tuco Tokkos (light heavyweight)
  • Davey Grant vs. Ramon Taveras (bantamweight)
  • Drakkar Klose vs. Joel Álvarez (lightweight)
  • Sean Woodson vs. Fernando Padilla (featherweight)

Continue Reading Ian Garry Headlines UFC Tampa On Dec. 14, Misses Out On Colby Covington Fight at MMA News.

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 […]

Continue Reading Joaquin Buckley Open To Fighting Different Former Champ If Usman Rejects Callout at MMA News.

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.”

Continue Reading Joaquin Buckley Open To Fighting Different Former Champ If Usman Rejects Callout at MMA News.

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 […]

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

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.