Coach Eric Nicksick, for one, has been extremely impressed by UFC welterweight contender Joaquin Buckley's efforts in 2024.
Buckley closed out his year in style on Saturday night when he headlined the final event of 2024. Opposite him inside Tampa's Amalie Arena was former interim champion Colby Covington, who planned on placing his name back into title contention a year on from a third failed bid for undisputed status.
"Chaos" didn't succeed in that ambition, however, with Buckley dominating him in the opening two rounds before a deep cut sustained just above Covington's right eye proved too bad for him to continue.
With the result, "New Mansa" has gone 4-0 this year, having previously knocked out Vicente Luque, outpointed Nursulton Ruziboev, and stopped Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson.
And according to Nicksick, that's elevated him not only into the "Fighter of the Year" discussion, but above both consensus leading candidates Alex Pereira and Ilia Topuria.
Loading tweet...
"Real talk, @Newmansa94 (Buckley) resurrection needs to be studied," Nicksick wrote on X. "6-0 in a new division w/ 4 stoppages, 4-0 in 2024. Ladies and Gentlemen, he's your 2024 Fighter of the Year. I'm out"
Pereira, the reigning light heavyweight kingpin, has staked his claim with three title defenses in 2024. After knockouts of Jamahal Hill and Jiří Procházka, "Poatan" most recently came from behind to batter Khalil Rountree in round four of their headline battle this past October.
Topuria, meanwhile, seemingly has the edge over the Brazilian in terms of competition level. Though he's fought once less than Pereira, the Spaniard dethroned the highly regarded Alexander Volkanovski in brutal fashion before becoming the first man to knock out Max Holloway to retain the featherweight gold.
But taking into account his career revival since dropping to 170 pounds, Buckley appears to have the vote of one renowned trainer in the fight game.