SALT LAKE CITY – [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] thinks his UFC 307 finish of Stephen Thompson earned him a big fight in the welterweight division, and he’s putting a target on Kamaru Usman’s head.
Buckley (21-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) extended his perfect run since dropped to 170 pounds Saturday when he scored a third-round knockout of former title challenger Thompson at Delta Center. After the fight, he took the microphone and called out Usman (20-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC).
“(I’m) 5-0 in the welterweight division right now,” Buckley told reporters, including MMA Junkie, post-fight at UFC 307. “Me putting on a tear, I feel like at the end of the day Usman being a former champion will kind of prove and cement my name that I should fight for a title next.”
Usman is currently on a three-fight losing skid and hasn’t competed since a majority decision loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 in October 2022. The former titleholder has publicly entertained a variety of matchups in recent months, and also seemed to acknowledge Buckley mentioning his name with some emojis on X.
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For Buckley, 30, he thinks it’s a matchup that will show the world exactly what he’s about in the form of a highlight-reel moment.
“I think I can knock out Usman,” Buckley said. “Immediately – yeah, immediately. Breaking records.”
As Buckley looks to continue his surge to the top of the division, he points to his performance against “Wonderboy” as a confidence-building moment. It was a competitive fight with 19-19, 18-20 and 20-18 scorecards going into the final round.
Buckley took it out of the hands of the judges, though, and he said that was the product of a well-round attack.
“I knew I just had to mix it up the whole time,” Buckley said. “You can’t just go out there and be one-dimensional, whether that’s just wrestling or striking with ‘Wonderboy.’ You’ve got to mix it up, especially if you’re trying to get him out of there.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.