Joaquin Buckley

Joaquin Buckley (born April 27, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

A professional competitor since 2014, he has also formerly competed for Bellator MMA and Legacy Fighting Alliance.

Buckley was born and grew up in St. Louis, Missouri.

His father never in the picture, Joaquin and his mother lived in his grandmother's house for the most part of his youth.

Joaquin's mother passed away due to a heart condition when he was in the sixth grade.

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

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.

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.