Joaquin Buckley has been on a roll, since his move down from middleweight to welterweight. After the viral knockout of Impa Kasanganay, Buckley had a .500 run in the UFC’s middleweight division, before he moved to welterweight where he is on a 3-fight winning streak. The winning streak has landed him on a co-main event spot at UFC St. Louis on May 11.
Nursulton Ruziboev, Buckley’s opponent as announced by Dana White, is no slouch. With close to 50 fights in MMA, Ruziboev has finished both his first in the UFC via first-round finish. Nevertheless, Buckley would go on into the matchup with the confidence of his recent TKO finish of Vicente Luque at UFC Atlantic City.
Comain event for #UFCStLouis is Buckley vs Ruziboev. Tickets available NOW!!! pic.twitter.com/si4ZY3bPNA
— danawhite (@danawhite) April 24, 2024
Before the victory over Luque, Buckley had defeated Andre Fialho and Alex Morono via TKO and unanimous decision, respectively. With his exciting fight style and fan-friendly persona, “New Mansa” has been touted by many to have a great run at the welterweight title.
The UFC’s welterweight division reigned by Leon Edwards, has Belal Muhammad as the rightful challenger. Edwards’ coach recently revealed Muhammad as the next challenger for the promotion’s visit to the UK at UFC 304 in Manchester.
Buckley had been trolling Edwards for allegedly refusing to fight Muhammad and even distributed flyers at the parking lots of the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas during the fight week of UFC 300.
Also, Buckley crashed the press conference of UFC 300, and pleaded for a spot at the UFC St. Louis main event.
Joaquin Buckley crashed UFC 300 Press Conference
Joaquin Buckley surprised everybody at the UFC 300 Press Conference before the promotion began to conduct the face-offs of the fighters. Buckley asked the final question from the media section, pleading to be the main event of the UFC’s visit to St. Louis, Buckley’s hometown.
The UFC had earlier announced Derrick Lewis versus Rodrigo Nascimento in the main event of the Fight Night. Buckley made his case for the main event spot, citing Lewis’ losing streak and the chances of a heavyweight fight not going 5 rounds being very low. Nonetheless, Buckley almost got his wish as he is now the co-main event of UFC St. Louis.
With Belal Muhammad claiming to be miles ahead of his welterweight counterparts, Joaquin Buckley will have a chance to prove his mettle against the dangerous Nursulton Ruziboev at the fight night on May 11.
Do you think Joaquin Buckley would become a champion in the UFC? Leave your prediction below.
