Tag: Joaquin Buckley

James Krause has harsh words for viral KO star Joaquin Buckley: ‘Dude’s a sh*tbox’

James Krause thinks the world is getting a false perception of who Joaquin Buckley really is after his viral UFC knockout.

ABU DHABI – [autotag]James Krause[/autotag] believes the world is getting a false perception of who [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] really is after his viral UFC knockout.

Following Krause’s (28-8 MMA, 9-4 UFC) unanimous decision win over Claudio Silva on Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 38, which took place at Flash Forum at Yas Island, he was asked about Buckley.

Krause said Buckley (10-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who became a global sensation after his one-legged back kick knockout of Impa Kasanganay a week ago, attempted to train with him over the summer. The fallout of that apparently created some hard feelings.

“The dude’s a clown, man,” Krause told reporters, including MMA Junkie, post-fight at UFC on ESPN+ 38. “Listen, this dude – people just know him from his viral video, for his viral knockout. (It was a) beautiful knockout. I’m not going to rag on that. The dude’s a (expletive)box. He’s from my neck of the woods and all he does is sit on social media and talk (expletive) all day. He called me to come train and I told him to get (expletive). I don’t want that type of culture in my gym, I don’t need that type of culture. No. He took offense to it, and it is what it is. And he can get it, too.”

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Krause took the fight with Silva on just 12 days’ notice, but managed to end the Brazilian’s perfect start under the UFC banner. Krause is now on a five-fight winning streak in the welterweight division, but has made it well known he’s balancing his fighting career with coaching.

Although he would like a natural progression up the 170-pound pecking order, Krause is willing to go out of his lane to settle the beef with Buckley next. If the UFC offered it, he said he would be more than willing to make another temporary trip to middleweight.

“I’ll go back up to middleweight and whoop his ass,” Krause said. “I don’t give a (expletive). Normally I need only 24 hours to go up to middleweight. He can get it, though. We can figure this out no problem. I know he’s got a fight set, but I’ll go back up middleweight for that. No problem. Easy work.”

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Viral KO sensation Joaquin Buckley returns at UFC 255 to fight Jordan Wright

Joaquin Buckley has no intention of being a one-kick wonder as he’ll get right back to work.

[autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] isn’t about to sit back and bask in the buzz after producing one of the most electrifying moments in UFC history. Instead, he’s getting right back to work.

Buckley, whose spinning back kick knockout of Impa Kasanganay last Saturday night at UFC on ESPN+ 37 had the MMA world debating where it places among the all-time great finishes, will meet undefeated [autotag]Jordan Wright at UFC 255[/autotag]. MMA Junkie confirmed the booking forllowing a Thursday report by UFC broadcast partner ESPN.

Buckley (11-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) earned his eighth career knockout and first UFC victory with the win over Kasanganay, bouncing back from a TKO loss to Kevin Holland in his UFC debut. The highlight went viral, even to the point that Kanye West used it on loop to release a new song.

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Wright (11-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), meanwhile, also brings a finisher’s touch to the fight. All 11 of his professional wins are finishes, 10 in the first round, including his doctor stoppage TKO of Ike Villanueva in his UFC debut on August 22.

UFC 255 will be held Nov. 21 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card features both flyweight champions, with men’s titleholder Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Alex Perez and women’s champ Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jennifer Maia.

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Kanye West uses Joaquin Buckley’s UFC knockout highlight to release new track

Watch Kanye West use Joaquin Buckley’s viral knockout at UFC on ESPN+ 37 in his latest video.

Just when you thought [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag]’s week couldn’t get any better, one of the most notable names in music has used his viral knockout in his latest video.

Kanye West released a new track on social media, where he played Buckley’s incredible spinning-back-kick knockout of Imapa Kasanganay at UFC on ESPN+ 37 on a loop in his video.

In the song, West discusses his presidential candidacy and even throws in a “Star Wars” scene from the memorable Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Anakin Skywalker duel in “Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.”

“THE WHOLE TEAM IS SO ENERGIZED THAT I HAD TO RELEASE THEME MUSIC NAH NAH NAH.”

Buckley’s knockout, which was dubbed as “the most unbelievable KO” in the history of the promotion by the UFC, caught the entire world by storm and, obviously, earned him a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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UFC on ESPN+ 37 medical suspensions: Cory Sandhagen’s win comes with a potential cost

Cory Sandhagen was victorious in the UFC on ESPN+ 37 main event, but his win came at a cost.

[autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag] was victorious in the UFC on ESPN+ 37 main event, but his win came at a cost.

Taking on fellow top bantamweight contender [autotag]Marlon Moraes[/autotag] on Saturday, Sandhagen (13-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) picked up a second-round TKO via a spinning wheel kick and punches. Against Moraes (23-7-1 MMA, 5-3 UFC), however, Sandhagen sustained an eye injury that could put him out of action for 180 days.

On Monday, MMA Junkie obtained the full list of suspensions from MixedMartialArts.com, the Association of Boxing Commissions’ official record keeper.

Also receiving potential six-month suspensions are [autotag]Tom Breese[/autotag], [autotag]Rodrigo Nascimento[/autotag], [autotag]Impa Kasanganay[/autotag], [autotag]Tony Kelley[/autotag], and [autotag]Omar Morales[/autotag] for injuries suffered in their fights Saturday.

UFC on ESPN+ 37 took place at Flash Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The event streamed on ESPN+.

Below is the full list of UFC on ESPN+ 37 medical suspensions:

  • Cory Sandhagen: Suspended 180 days or until cleared by an ophthalmologist; Also suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days.
  • Marlon Moraes: Suspended 45 days for TKO with no contact for 21 days.
  • [autotag]Edson Barboza[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest.
  • [autotag]Makwan Amirkhani[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days for “hard bout” with no contact for 21 days.
  • [autotag]Marcin Tybura[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days for “hard bout” with no contact for 21 days.
  • [autotag]Ben Rothwell[/autotag]: Suspended 45 days for a right eyebrow laceration with no contact for 21 days.
  • [autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest.
  • [autotag]Markus Perez[/autotag]: Suspended 60 days for a knockout with no contact for 45 days.
  • [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest.
  • [autotag]Alan Baudot[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days for TKO with no contact for 21 days.
  • [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days for left eyelid laceration with no contact for 21 days.
  • [autotag]Youssef Zalal[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest.
  • Tom Breese: Suspended 180 days or until right knee MRI and left tibia/fibula x-rays are cleared by a doctor; Also suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days.
  • [autotag]K.B. Bhullar[/autotag]: Suspended 45 days for TKO with no contact for 30 days.
  • [autotag]Chris Daukaus[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest.
  • Rodrigo Nascimento: Suspended 180 days or until cleared by an ophthalmologist; Also suspended for 30 days with no contact for 21 days for right scalp laceration.
  • [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest.
  • Impa Kasanganay: Suspended 180 days or until cleared by an ophthalmologist; Also suspended 60 days for knockout with no contact for 45 days.
  • Tony Kelley: Suspended 180 days or until right elbow MRI is and right tibia/fibula x-ray are cleared by doctor; Also suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days.
  • [autotag]Ali Alqaisi[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest.
  • [autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest.
  • Omar Morales: Suspended 180 days or until right elbow MRI, left tibia/fibula X-ray, and left ankle X-ray are cleared by a doctor; Also suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days.
  • [autotag]Tracy Cortez[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest.
  • [autotag]Stephanie Egger[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest.
  • [autotag]Tagir Ulanbekov[/autotag]: Suspended seven days for mandatory rest.
  • [autotag]Bruno Silva[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days for right eyebrow laceration with no contact for 21 days.

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MMA Junkie Radio #3095: UFC on ESPN+ 37 recap, Jones-Adesanya feud, more (noon ET)

Check out the latest edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”

Monday’s episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here and will stream live on SportsCastr beginning at noon ET (9 a.m.

On the agenda for today, the guys will be joined by MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn to discuss [autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag]’s win over Marlon Moraes, [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag]’s knockout heard ’round the world, the escalating beef between [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag], and what to do with the top of the UFC lightweight division.

Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.

As incredible as Joaquin Buckley’s viral KO was, it’s not the greatest in UFC history. Here’s why. | Opinion

Joaquin Buckley’s knockout of Impa Kasanganay might be the most spectacular, but “spectacular” and “greatest” aren’t necessarily the same.

In the hours after a mind-bending knockout by [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN+ 37, a question: How does one judge the greatest knockout in UFC history?

Do you mainly value technique? If so, perhaps you’ve considered the thing of beauty that was Anderson Silva’s front-kick knockout of Vitor Belfort at UFC 126 the greatest ever in the octagon. Edson Barboza putting himself on the map with a flawless spinning wheel kick against Terry Etim in 2012 belongs in this category, too.

How much do the circumstances during the fight itself matter? Yair Rodriguez landing an upward elbow to drop a charging Chan Sung Jung with one second left in the fifth round of their UFC 25th anniversary event headliner made an already great knockout a lot more memorable than it would have been had it occurred midway through some random fight on a random night.

Then there are the times the knockout serves as the serendipitous culmination of a storyline. Dan Henderson landed many picture-perfect “H-bombs” during his career, but none was more memorable than when he put Michael Bisping to sleep at UFC 100 to close out a particularly rancorous season of coaching on “The Ultimate Fighter.”

Sometimes, fans simply have visceral memories of the first insane knockout they ever saw. An entire generation still remembers where they were when Gabriel Gonzaga head-kicked Mirko Cro Cop in 2007. For this writer, Tank Abbott mocking a twitching John Matua after finishing him in 20 seconds at UFC 6 feels like it happened yesterday.

And while Abbott’s 1995 KO of Matua and Buckley’s stoppage of Impa Kasanganay on Saturday night are polar opposites from a skill standpoint, they’re similar in this regard: They’re both moments that will be remembered decades down the road.

Buckley’s space-age spinning back kick on “Fight Island” already has some proclaiming the knockout as the greatest in UFC history. Like Silva on several occasions before him, Buckley did something that seemed to defy the laws of physics.

How in the world does someone not only manage to keep their composure in that moment, in which your opponent catches your first kick, but to turn it into something special? At any point, Kasanganay could have shoved Buckley off balance in any number of ways, and a viral moment never happens.

But Buckley cleared the first hurdle when Kasanganay held on milliseconds too long. Buckley took the leap of faith in the moment and somehow managed to push himself off and execute the proper velocity and precision to land a bullseye on a kick which, even if you’re starting with both feet on the ground, is an extraordinarily difficult maneuver to pull off.

All those factors just might have earned the title of most spectacular knockout in UFC history and is on the very short list of the most technically proficient. But is the most spectacular knockout the same as the greatest knockout? I’m not sure I’d go quite that far.

(Side note: Yes, we’re limiting this to the UFC. If we opened it to the entire sport, my pick might be Fedor Emelianenko catching Andrei Arlovski mid-air attempting a flying-knee KO of his own in Affliction in 2009. Also, this column isn’t meant to be a comprehensive listing of every great UFC knockout ever, so apologies in advance if I don’t mention your favorite.)

I’ve left out one of the biggest factors worth considering: the stakes in any given fight. Are you capable of delivering something memorable in the biggest moment, under the most intense spotlight, when the pressure is highest? After all, Malcolm Butler’s interception of Russell Wilson was nowhere near the most spectacular pick in NFL history. But you already knew without me specifying that I’m referencing his clutch play during the closing seconds of Super Bowl XLIX with the Seattle Seahawks on the New England Patriots’ 1-yard line.

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Under those parameters? No knockout in UFC history ever resonated like Holly Holm’s head kick of Ronda Rousey at UFC 193.

Rousey was at the peak of her powers as a cultural force in late 2015. Too many people who should have known better (think Joe Rogan and “once in a lifetime does not apply to Ronda Rousey”) fell for the aura of Rousey’s invincibility. The largest crowd in UFC history at the time flocked to Melbourne, Australia, to see it.

Those are incredible circumstances under which to perform. Holm’s head kick finish of Rousey to claim the bantamweight title reverberated far beyond the sport. It was the topic in the sports and entertainment worlds. Tens of thousands of people showed up to Holm’s hometown of Albuquerque, N.M., to greet her.

Was Holm’s kick more spectacular than Buckley’s? Of course not. But they also won’t throw a large parade for him in his hometown.

Buckley deserves all the plaudits he is receiving for what’s probably the flashiest knockout in UFC history. But “most spectacular” and “greatest” knockouts are two separate (if sometimes overlapping) things, and until someone duplicates what Holm accomplished in similar circumstances, you won’t convince me we’ve seen one greater.

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Warriors’ Eric Paschall reacts to Joaquin Buckley’s incredible KO at UFC Fight Island 5

After Joaquin Buckley landed an incredible spinning kick to knockout Impa Kasanganay at UFC Fight Island 5, Eric Paschall chimed in on Twitter.

While the sports world waits for game six of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers, UFC shared centerstage with college football.

On Saturday, the UFC hosted Fight Island 5 live from Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Although bantamweight contenders Marlon Moraes and Cory Sandhagen squared off in the main event, UFC’s fifth event at Fight Island will be remembered for a fight on the undercard.

Middleweights Joaquin Buckley and Impa Kasanganay strapped in their gloves for the fifth fight of the event. Following the start of the second round, fireworks ensued.

With three minutes remaining in the second round, Buckley landed an improbable spinning kick directly to Kasanganay’s face. After contact, Kasanganay crashed down into the canvas as the referee swarmed him to end the fight.

Via @UFC on Twitter:

Following the knockout, social media channels exploded into a frenzy with takes regarding the jaw-dropping moment. Viewers from across the internet immediately labeled the kick as one of the greatest knockouts in UFC history.

One member of the Golden State Warriors chimed in with his own reaction for Buckley’s knockout. On Twitter, Eric Paschall captioned a quote tweet with “My goodness!!”

Via @epaschall on Twitter:

With his memorable knockout, Buckley moved his mixed martial arts record to an impressive 11-3-0.

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‘You’re gonna make me cry’: See viral sensation Joaquin Buckley’s giddy reaction to Dana White

This is perfectly wholesome content right here.

There’s no other way to put it. [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] sent shockwaves through the sports world Saturday night.

At UFC on ESPN+ 37, Buckley (11-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) knocked out highly touted and previously undefeated middleweight Impa Kasanganay with one of the most jaw-dropping knockouts you’ll ever see. The finish instantly went viral, allegedly topping the UFC’s all-time charts for a social media post (5.6 million views on Twitter as of this writing).

Sitting in the chair backstage awaiting his interview with Karyn Bryant, Buckley was overcome with emotion at the sight of his boss approaching him. UFC president Dana White came into the back to shake hands with Buckley and congratulate him on one of the greatest knockouts in the promotion’s history.

“Aw, naw,” Buckley said in a video captured by ESPN. “You’re gonna make me cry.”

The finish’s beautiful, brutal, uniqueness caused many fans and media members to suggest the UFC give Buckley all four $50,000 post-fight bonuses. Though Buckley ultimately only received one of those four checks, White heard the calls and had a lot of kind words for the UFC’s newest viral sensation.

“I always talk about when you’re on a card, right?” White said. “How do you stand out? My phone is blowing up. Kevin Iole (expletive) hit me up for a quote because he’s already doing a story on you. Everybody is saying, ‘Just give him $200,000 tonight. Give him every bonus.’ Nobody has ever seen anything like that. Sean Shelby texted me and said, ‘Write him a check right now for $50,000 and go give it to him before he gets out of (there). Incredible.”

Incredible, indeed.

UFC on ESPN+ 37 took place Saturday at Flash Forum on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The event streamed on ESPN+.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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UFC on ESPN+ 37 video: Joaquin Buckley’s insane back kick delivers ‘Knockout of the Year’ contender

OH MY.

[autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] scored one of the most incredible knockouts in UFC history against Impa Kasanganay on Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 37.

Buckley (11-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) landed a spinning back kick off a caught kick in the second round of his middleweight bout with with Kasanganay (8-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), and it put him out upon impact at Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi.

Kasanganay froze when the shot landed before crashing to the canvas. Watch the video of the incredible finish below (via Twitter):

Kasanganay stiffened up in a worrying fashion after the strike landed, but he eventually was able to recover and leave the octagon under his own power.

Buckley, meanwhile, put on a performance that will live in UFC highlight lore for years, and it was a thrilling way to get his hand raised in the octagon for the first time.

Buckley’s knockout was the fourth in UFC history to stem from a spinning back kick to the head. Renan Barao, Uriah Hall, and Magomed Mustafaev also accomplished the feat.

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