[autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag]’s return to welterweight was emphatic.
Buckley (16-6 MMA, 6-4 UFC) knocked out Andre Fialho (16-7 MMA, 2-4 UFC) with a left high kick in their 170-pound main card bout at UFC Fight Night 224 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Fialho was able to catch Buckley multiple times in Round 1, but Buckley kept lunging forward with combinations. “New Mansa” landed two brief explosive takedowns in Round 1, but Fialho popped right back up.
Buckley continued to throw with bad intentions in Round 2 until he caught Fialho with a big head kick knockout which froze him. He followed it up with another shot, but it wasn’t necessary as he scored the stoppage in the 4:15 mark (via Twitter):
BUCKLEY CAUGHT HIM WITH A HEAD KICK 😲 #UFCVegas73 pic.twitter.com/OWCo1EifJL
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 20, 2023
Buckley returned to 170 pounds for the first time in the octagon and the first time since April 2018. Five of his past six wins have come by knockout.
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 224 results include:
- Joaquin Buckley def. Andre Fialho via knockout (head kick and punch) – Round 2, 4:15
- Diego Ferreira def. Michael Johnson via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 1:50
- Viacheslav Borshchev def. Hayisaer Maheshate via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:37
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz def. Vanessa Demopoulos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Gilbert Urbina def. Orion Cosce via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:55
- Rodrigo Nascimento def. Ilir Latifi via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Chase Hooper (def. Nick Fiore via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
- Natalia Silva def. Victoria Leonardo via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:58
- Themba Gorimbo def. Takashi Sato via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.
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