Joaquin Buckley

Joaquin Buckley (born April 27, 1994) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2014, he has also formerly competed for Bellator MMA and Legacy Fighting Alliance. As of April 2, 2024, he is #11 in the UFC welterweight rankings.

Background
Buckley was born and grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. His father was never in the picture, so Buckley and his mother lived in his grandmother's house for the most part of his youth. Buckley's mother passed away due to a heart condition when he was in the sixth grade. He started wrestling at Marquette High School, growing interested in mixed martial arts, and eventually started training in it after graduating.

Early career
Starting his professional career in 2014, Buckley compiled a 10–2 record fighting for Shamrock FC, Bellator MMA, and Legacy Fighting Alliance. During that time, he most notably faced Logan Storley 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 on August 8, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 174, 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. He won the bout via knockout in the second round, after connecting with a jumping spinning back kick. 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 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 at UFC 255 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 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 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 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. 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. 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 on September 3, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 209. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Buckley faced Chris Curtis on December 10, 2022, at UFC 282. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round two.

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

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

Buckley faced Vicente Luque 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. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments
Voting period for 2021 awards ran through July 2020 to July 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 * Ultimate Fighting Championship 
 * Performance of the Night (Four times) vs. Impa Kasanganay, Jordan Wright, Albert Duraev and Antônio Arroyo
 * 2020 UFC President's Choice Performance of the Year vs. Impa Kasanganay
 * 2020 UFC.com & Honors Knockout of the Year vs. Impa Kasanganay
 * MMAjunkie.com
 * 2020 October Knockout of the Month vs. Impa Kasanganay
 * 2020 Knockout of the Year vs. Impa Kasanganay
 * MMA Fighting, Bleacher Report, MMA Mania, CombatPress.com, Cageside Press, BT Sport, Sherdog, MMA Weekly
 * 2020 Knockout of the Year vs. Impa Kasanganay
 * World MMA Awards
 * 2021 Knockout of the Year vs. Impa Kasanganay at UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen