Joaquin Buckley has never been one to tiptoe around his ambitions, and with his biggest UFC fight looming, he’s doubling down on what matters 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 worth more to him than a highlight-reel knockout of former champ Leon Edwards.
Joaquin Buckley vs. Kamaru Usman
“If I would have just went out there and knocked [Leon] out, people would never have given me my flowers,” Joaquin Buckley said in an interview with
“But fighting somebody like Kamaru - don’t get it twisted, yes, he’s on an 0-3 loss streak, right? But his last performance against Khamzat - what a bad performance, and Khamzat looked at as the boogeyman. If it would have gone five rounds, it would have been a whole different story. Now, our fight is about to go five rounds, and also, my man’s resume and what he’s done and what he’s able to accomplish and his accolades cannot be matched. Leon ain’t done [expletive] like that, right? So beating Leon, that ain’t nothing. Beating a man like Kamaru, man, and getting that name on my resume is way more important.”
The US-born Joaquin Buckley’s confidence isn’t misplaced. He’s riding a six-fight win streak since dropping to welterweight, having dispatched names like Stephen Thompson, Vicente Luque, and most recently, Colby Covington via third-round TKO at UFC Tampa. That run has catapulted him to #7 in the welterweight rankings and put him firmly in the title conversation, especially if he can add Usman’s name to his growing list of victims. At 31, Buckley is in his athletic prime, blending the explosive power that made him a viral sensation with a more measured, tactical approach honed over years of grinding through the UFC’s toughest divisions.
While Joaquin Buckley’s star is rising, Usman’s is at a crossroads. Once the dominant force at 170 pounds, “The Nigerian Nightmare” is coming off three straight losses, including a close decision to Khamzat Chimaev in a middleweight outing. But Buckley isn’t buying the narrative that Usman is finished. He sees the former champ’s resume, title defenses, big-fight experience, and a reputation as a future Hall of Famer - as gold for any contender’s record.
“The names do matter. The names do hold value. The names do hold weight,” Joaquin Buckley said, even taking a jab at Sean Brady for passing up a fight with Usman, suggesting that collecting Edwards’s name isn’t nearly as valuable as adding Usman to the resume.
UFC
Leon Edwards, for his part, has stumbled since losing his belt to Belal Muhammad last summer. After a long reign that included two wins over Usman and a successful defense against Covington, Edwards has now dropped back-to-back fights, most recently getting submitted by Sean Brady in London. Buckley, never one for subtlety, has been vocal about Edwards’s recent struggles, even blaming his corner for the slide and arguing that the Birmingham fighter’s accomplishments pale in comparison to Usman’s legendary run.
A win over Usman, even one on a losing streak, would be the biggest feather in his cap and could launch him into a title shot against the likes of current champion Jack Della Maddalena. Buckley knows it, and, if his words are any indication, he’s relishing the chance to prove that beating a legend means more than knocking off a former champ in a slump.
