Joaquin Yuconri Buckley ( ; born April 27, 1994) is an American professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. He currently competes in the

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC). A professional since 2014, he has also formerly competed for

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from ''wikt:bellator, bellātor ...

and

Legacy Fighting Alliance The Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Houston, Texas. It was created as a result of the Legacy Fighting Championship and Resurrection Fighting Alliance merg ...

. As of April 29, 2025, he is #7 in the UFC welterweight rankings.

Background

Buckley was born and raised in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. Buckley and his mother lived in his grandmother's house for the most part of his youth. Buckley's mother died due to a heart condition when he was in the sixth grade. He started

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

at Marquette High School, growing interested in mixed martial arts, and eventually started training in it after graduating.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Starting his professional career in 2014, Buckley compiled a 10–2 record fighting for Shamrock FC,

, and

. During that time, he most notably faced

Logan Storley Logan Storley (born September 8, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist and folkstyle wrestler. He currently competes in the welterweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL). He is a former interim Bellator Welt ...

on April 13, 2018, at Bellator 197. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. After two straight TKO wins in LFA, Buckley was signed to the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Buckley made his UFC debut against

Kevin Holland Kevin Alan Holland (born November 5, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. He currently competes in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional si ...

on August 8, 2020, at

UFC Fight Night 174 ''UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Oleinik'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 174'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 32'' and ''UFC Vegas 6'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 8, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in En ...

, just one week after picking up a win in LFA. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round three. A middleweight bout between Abu Azaitar and Joaquin Buckley was expected to take place on October 11, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen. However, Azaitar pulled out on September 26 due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by

Impa Kasanganay Impa Armand Kasanganay (born January 17, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Light heavyweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). He formerly competed in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions ...

. Buckley won the bout via knockout in the second round in spectacular fashion. Kasanganay grabbed his foot after Buckley threw a left body kick. Buckley then jumped off the trapped leg and connected a spinning back kick to the head, knocking Kasanganay out cold. For this knockout, Buckley not only earned the Performance of the Night bonus, but the video of his knockout win went viral on the internet. The UFC tweet with the video was the most-liked (359,000), most-retweeted (143,000), and most-viewed (12.8 million) tweet in UFC history. The knockout became the UFC's most-watched Instagram video ever with over 17.8 million views. Across three tweets, three Instagram posts, four Facebook posts, and a TikTok video, the Buckley knockout video has generated more than 65 million views and 83 million impressions for the UFC. Rapper

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

even used the footage of the knockout to promote the release of a new song. In a quick return to the Octagon, Buckley faced

Jordan Wright Jordan Wright (born October 7, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division. He formerly fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Wright started gymnastics at age four, but after watching th ...

UFC 255 ''UFC 255: Figueiredo vs. Perez'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 21, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United S ...

on November 21, 2020. He won the fight via knockout in round two. This win earned him the '' Performance of the Night'' award. Buckley faced

Alessio Di Chirico Alessio Di Chirico (born December 12, 1989) is an Italian former mixed martial artist who competed in Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Di Chirico was born in Rome, Italy. He attended University of Fo ...

on January 16, 2021, at UFC on ABC 1. He lost the fight in the first round via a head kick knockout. Buckley faced

Antônio Arroyo João Antônio Barbosa Arroyo (born 1 July 1989) is a Brazilian male mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division. He has formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background After graduating with a business d ...

on September 18, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Spann. He won the fight via knockout in round three. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award. Buckley was scheduled to face

Abdul Razak Alhassan Abdul Razak Alhassan (born August 11, 1985) is a Ghanaian mixed martial artist who competed in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2013, he formerly fought in Bellator and Legacy Fighting Ch ...

on January 15, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 32. However, the pairing was cancelled after Alhassan withdrew for undisclosed reasons and the pair was rescheduled to

UFC Fight Night 201 ''UFC Fight Night: Walker vs. Hill'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 201'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 59'' and ''UFC Vegas 48'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 19, 2022, at the UFC ...

. Buckley won the fight via split decision. Of the 16 media pundits scoring the fight, 7 scored it in favor of Buckley, 8 scored in favor of Alhassan, and 1 scored it a draw. Buckley was scheduled to face Abusupiyan Magomedov on June 4, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 207. However, the bout was cancelled for unknown reasons. Buckley faced Albert Duraev on June 18, 2022, at

UFC on ESPN 37 ''UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Emmett'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 37'' and ''UFC Austin'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 18, 2022 at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, United S ...

. He won the fight via TKO before the third round after the ringside doctor stopped the fight due to Duraev's eye swelling shut. This win earned him his fourth Performance of the Night award. Buckley faced

Nassourdine Imavov Nassourdine Abdoulazimovich Imavov (; born 1 March 1995) is a French professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of 11 February 2025, he is #1 in the UFC ...

on September 3, 2022, at

UFC Fight Night 209 ''UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Tuivasa'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 209'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 67'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 3, 2022, at Accor Arena in Paris, Fra ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Buckley faced

Chris Curtis Chris Curtis may refer to: * Chris Curtis (fighter) (born 1987), American MMA fighter * Chris Curtis (musician) (1941–2005), British drummer and singer, best known for being with The Searchers * Chris Curtis (politician), British Member of Pa ...

on December 10, 2022, at

UFC 282 ''UFC 282: Błachowicz vs. Ankalaev'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It took place on December 10, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United S ...

. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round two. Buckley faced

André Fialho André Fialho Mensurado (born April 7, 1994) is a Portuguese mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division. He is the former UAE Warriors champion and has also competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), PFL, Bellat ...

on May 20, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 223. He won the fight via technical knockout in round two. Buckley faced

Alex Morono Alexander Quincy Morono (born August 16, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently fights in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2010, Morono has also fought for Legacy ...

on October 7, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 229. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Buckley faced

Vicente Luque Vicente Catta Preta Luque (born November 27, 1991) is a Brazilian and American professional mixed martial artist of Chilean and Brazilian descent. He currently competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). B ...

on March 30, 2024, at UFC on ESPN 54, as a replacement for an injured Sean Brady. He won the fight via technical knockout in round two. Buckley faced Nursulton Ruziboev on May 11, 2024, at

UFC on ESPN 56 ''UFC on ESPN: Lewis vs. Nascimento'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 56'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 11, 2024, at the Enterprise Center, in St. Louis, Missouri, United State ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Buckley faced former

UFC Welterweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight clas ...

title challenger Stephen Thompson on October 5, 2024 at

UFC 307 ''UFC 307: Pereira vs. Rountree Jr.'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 5, 2024, at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Background The event marked the ...

. He won the fight by knockout in the third round. This fight earned him another '' Performance of the Night'' award. Buckley was scheduled to face Ian Machado Garry on December 14, 2024, at

UFC on ESPN 63 ''UFC on ESPN: Covington vs. Buckley'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 63'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 14, 2024, at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, United States. B ...

. However, Garry was pulled to fight

Shavkat Rakhmonov Shavkat Bakhtibaevich Rakhmonov (, ; born October 23, 1994) is a Kazakh professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2014, Rakhmonov is al ...

UFC 310 ''UFC 310: Pantoja vs. Asakura'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 7, 2024, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Valley, United States. Backgroun ...

and was replaced by former interim champion

Colby Covington Colby Ray Covington (born February 22, 1988) is an American professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a ...

. Buckley won the fight by technical knockout as a result of a doctor stoppage due to a cut above Covington's eye in the third round. Buckley faced former

UFC Welterweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight class ...

Kamaru Usman Kamarudeen Usman (born May 11, 1987) is a Nigerian-American professional mixed martial artist, former freestyle wrestler, and graduated folkstyle wrestler. He currently competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championsh ...

in the main event on June 14, 2025, at UFC on ESPN 69. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. This fight earned him a '' Fight of the Night'' award.

Championships and accomplishments

** Fight of the Night (One time) ** Performance of the Night (Five times) **UFC Honors Awards *** 2020: President's Choice Performance of the Year Winner & Fan's Choice Knockout of the Year Winner **UFC.com Awards *** 2020:

Knockout of the Year '' The Ring'' magazine was established in 1922 and has named a Knockout of the Year since 1989, based on the magazine's writers' criteria. Knockouts of the Year by decade 1980s * 1989: Michael Nunn ''KO 1'' Sumbu Kalambay see Michael Nunn v ...

& Ranked #2 Newcomer of the Year *** 2024: Ranked #9 Fighter of the Year *

MMAjunkie.com MMA Junkie is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It was founded in 2006, and has been owned by Gannett Company since 2011. The site and its content have been featured in ''Time'' magazine, ''ESPN The Magazine'', ''Th ...

**2020 October Knockout of the Month vs. Impa Kasanganay **2020 Knockout of the Year vs. Impa Kasanganay *

MMA Fighting ''MMA Fighting'' is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). Founded in 2001, the site is notable for its breaking news coverage, podcast series, and ''The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani''. Overview ''MMAFighting.com'' ...

Bleacher Report ''Bleacher Report'' (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sports and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. ''Bleacher Report'' was acquired by Time Warner's Turner B ...

, MMA Mania, CombatPress.com, Cageside Press,

BT Sport TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport) is a group of pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Now owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, Warner Bros. Discovery and BT Group, they first launched as B ...

Sherdog Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It also has many forums and discussion pages on the many topics of MMA like records, promotions, etc. The site is a member of the CraveOnline network and provides MM ...

, MMA Weekly **2020 Knockout of the Year vs. Impa Kasanganay *

World MMA Awards The World MMA Awards are awards presented by ''Fighters Only'' magazine to honor exceptional performance in various aspects of mixed martial arts. Winners are presented with the ''Fighters Only silver statuette''. The World MMA Awards are divided ...

**2021

vs.

at UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen Voting period for 2021 awards ran through July 2020 to July 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Mixed martial arts record

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Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

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Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

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, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:17 ,

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

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, TKO (punches) , UFC on ESPN: Blanchfield vs. Fiorot , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:17 ,

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–6 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–6 ,

, KO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:49 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–5 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Tuivasa , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France , , - , Win , align=center, 15–4 , Albert Duraev , TKO (doctor stoppage) , UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Emmett , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–4 ,

, KO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Spann , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:26 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–4 ,

, KO (head kick) , UFC on ABC: Holloway vs. Kattar , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:12 ,

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, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 ,

, KO (punches) ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 ,

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, United Arab Emirates , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–3 ,

, TKO (punch) , UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Oleinik , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:32 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , Jackie Gosh , TKO (punches) , LFA 87 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:47 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Justin Patterson , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 175 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–1 , Jackie Gosh , TKO (punches) , Bellator 164 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:44 ,

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, Israel , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Chris Heatherly , KO (knee) , Bellator 157: Dynamite 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:14 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Kyle Kurtz , TKO (knee and punches) , Shamrock FC: Fuel , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:34 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Stacy Bacon , Decision (unanimous) , Shamrock FC: Throwdown , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Kalel Robinson , TKO (punches) , Shamrock FC: Showdown , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:01 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Bryant West , TKO (punches) , Shamrock FC: Xtreme Fight Night 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:28 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Wesley Sullivan , TKO (punches) , Shamrock FC: Nemesis , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:46 ,

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Buckley, Joaquin 1994 births Living people American male mixed martial artists African-American mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Martial artists from St. Louis Mixed martial artists from Missouri 21st-century American sportsmen