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Joaquin Buckley Has Epic Mic Drop After Beating Ex-UFC Champ at Tampa Fight Night

UFC welterweight contender Joaquin Buckley needed one minute to remind assembled media members and fans about a No. 1 contender fight.

Zain Bando

Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

UFC welterweight contender Joaquin Buckley kept his UFC Tampa post-fight media scrum short and sweet.

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Buckley, who capped off his 2024 stint with a third-round TKO (via doctor's stoppage) against former interim champion Colby Covington, didn't ask assembled media questions. Instead, he made a pitch for becoming the No. 1 contender next year.

"My first main event was a big success I feel like," Buckley said. "The whole card was very successful, getting a lot of knockouts. My fight [against Covington] shouldn't have been stopped, but it is what is. Gotta protect the fighters, but I feel like 2025 is definitely my year, and we're definitely taking over [the division]."

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Buckley, who improved to 11-4 in the UFC and 6-0 since moving to welterweight in May of last year, said he is open to fighting one of three names: Belal Muhammad, Leon Edwards, or Kamaru Usman in his next fight.

Muhammad beat Edwards to win the welterweight title in July, while Usman has tested the waters at 185 since losing the belt to Edwards at UFC 278 and then again in a trilogy bout at UFC 286 the following spring.

Not only is Buckley open to those potential fights, but he would prefer to serve as a backup for when Muhammad fights undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov next year.

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"If anything happens where Shavkat or Belal doesn't step up into the Octagon, I want to face them," Buckley said.

UFC CEO Dana White didn't tend or care to comment on Buckley's performance, but did iterate that Covington was hit with big shots and his eyelid was compromised completely.

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Buckley attempts to carry on the St. Louis UFC legacy, as he would join ex-welterweight champion Tyron Woodley as another fighter from that area to win the belt.

Covington is still without a win and has been for 32 months. It is unclear what is next for the former interim champion.

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Zain Bando
ZAIN BANDO

Zain Bando is a writer for MMA Knockout, part of the Sports Illustrated/Minute Media umbrella. He has covered combat sports since 2019 for notable outlets BJPenn.com and FanSided MMA. He also co-hosts a podcast called "The MMA Outsiders," part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network, which airs Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT. A Chicago suburban native, Bando has been enthralled with MMA since 2006 and has been fortunate to attend some of the most high-profile events in the sport's history, both as a fan and media member, including UFC 264, Bellator 297 and Kayla Harrison's PFL MMA debut. He is excited to take the next step in his combat sports writing journey and looks forward to continuing his following of the fight game for years to come. Bando can be reached via email at zainbando99@gmail.com or by social media @zainbando99

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