After a frustrating run of losses, Joaquin Buckley’s UFC stint is coming to an end.
In May 2023, Buckley injected a new spark of life into his career by dropping down to Welterweight after years as an undersized 185-pounder. The results were immediate, as Buckley rattled off a six-fight win streak that included stoppage wins over Colby Covington and Stephen Thompson. He was inside the Top Five and closing in on a title shot, then Jack Della Maddalena was awarded a short-notice title opportunity versus
Belal Muhammad after an unfortunate injury to Shavkat Rakhmonov.
That opportunity could have gone to Buckley, who was arguably on the better run of wins inside the Octagon. Instead, Buckley returned to action a few months later and suffered an upset loss to Kamaru Usman. He’s lost twice more since then, getting held down by Sean Brady and then knocked out by Mike Malott last month (see it here).
After the latest defeat, Buckley shockingly announced his intention to retire after one more fight. Now, Buckley has revealed that his frustration with not getting a title shot played a role in that decision.
“That’s why I did this sport: to become a champion,” Buckley told Parry Punch. “No other thing else. I don’t want to be s—t else — not Top Five, Top 10, Top 15. I did this s—t to be a f—king champ because that’s what they said. If you want to get paid, if you want to eat what you kill, you gotta win that belt.
“And I had one opportunity. I had one opportunity that they really could have gave it to me, and they didn’t. And they played me. And I’m sorry, I can’t get over it. And then motherf—kers say, ‘Buck, just do it again. We believe in you.’ Y’all gotta believe in something else.”
Clearly, Buckley is agitated by the whole situation. With 30 professional bouts under his belt, Buckley has certainly put his time into the sport and is currently far removed from the belt. Walking away is a completely reasonable decision, and yet, “New Mansa” is only 32 years old and still very much in the prime of his career.
MMA retirements are notoriously shaky.
