Joaquin Buckley has by no means been one to tiptoe round his ambitions, and along with his largest UFC combat looming, he’s doubling down on what issues most for his legacy. As he prepares to headline UFC on ESPN: Usman vs. Buckley in Atlanta on June 14, the St. Louis native is making it clear: a win over Kamaru Usman is price extra to him than a highlight-reel knockout of former champ Leon Edwards.
Joaquin Buckley vs. Kamaru Usman
“If I’d have simply went on the market and knocked [Leon] out, individuals would by no means have given me my flowers,” Joaquin Buckley mentioned in an interview with Parry Punch, brushing apart Edwards’s latest run and specializing in the load of Usman’s achievements.
“However preventing someone like Kamaru – don’t get it twisted, sure, he’s on an 0-3 loss streak, proper? However his final efficiency towards Khamzat – what a nasty efficiency, and Khamzat checked out because the boogeyman. If it might have gone 5 rounds, it might have been an entire completely different story. Now, our combat is about to go 5 rounds, and likewise, my man’s resume and what he’s carried out and what he’s in a position to accomplish and his accolades can’t be matched. Leon ain’t carried out [expletive] like that, proper? So beating Leon, that ain’t nothing. Beating a person like Kamaru, man, and getting that identify on my resume is far more vital.”
The US-born Joaquin Buckley’s confidence isn’t misplaced. He’s using a six-fight win streak since dropping to welterweight, having dispatched names like Stephen Thompson, Vicente Luque, and most not too long ago, Colby Covington by way of third-round TKO at UFC Tampa. That run has catapulted him to #7 within the welterweight rankings and put him firmly within the title dialog, particularly if he can add Usman’s identify to his rising checklist of victims. At 31, Buckley is in his athletic prime, mixing the explosive energy that made him a viral sensation with a extra measured, tactical method honed over years of grinding by means of the UFC’s hardest divisions.
Whereas Joaquin Buckley’s star is rising, Usman’s is at a crossroads. As soon as the dominant power at 170 kilos, “The Nigerian Nightmare” is coming off three straight losses, together with a detailed resolution to Khamzat Chimaev in a middleweight outing. However Buckley isn’t shopping for the narrative that Usman is completed. He sees the previous champ’s resume, title defenses, big-fight expertise, and a popularity as a future Corridor of Famer – as gold for any contender’s report.
“The names do matter. The names do maintain worth. The names do maintain weight,” Joaquin Buckley mentioned, even taking a jab at Sean Brady for passing up a combat with Usman, suggesting that gathering Edwards’s identify isn’t almost as invaluable as including Usman to the resume.
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Leon Edwards, for his half, has stumbled since shedding his belt to Belal Muhammad final summer season. After a protracted reign that included two wins over Usman and a profitable protection towards Covington, Edwards has now dropped back-to-back fights, most not too long ago getting submitted by Sean Brady in London. Buckley, by no means one for subtlety, has been vocal about Edwards’s latest struggles, even blaming his nook for the slide and arguing that the Birmingham fighter’s accomplishments pale compared to Usman’s legendary run.
A win over Usman, even one on a shedding streak, can be the most important feather in his cap and will launch him right into a title shot towards the likes of present champion Jack Della Maddalena. Buckley is aware of it, and, if his phrases are any indication, he’s relishing the prospect to show that beating a legend means greater than knocking off a former champ in a hunch.
