Joaquin Yuconri Buckley (born April 27, 1994) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

who competes in the

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. A professional competitor since 2014, he has also formerly competed for

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media cong ...

and

Legacy Fighting Alliance Legacy Fighting Alliance is an American mixed martial arts promotion, created as a result of the ''Legacy Fighting Championship'' and ''Resurrection Fighting Alliance'' merger in early 2017. History Resurrection Fighting Alliance On October 11, ...

Background

Buckley was born and grew up in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. 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.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Starting his professional career in 2014, Buckley compiled a 10–2 record fighting for Shamrock FC,

, and

. During that time, he most notably faced

Logan Storley Logan Storley (born September 8, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist and graduated folkstyle wrestler. He currently competes in the welterweight division of Bellator MMA, where he is the current Interim Bellator Welterweigh ...

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 Kevin Alan Holland (born November 5, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2015, Holland has also competed for ...

on August 8, 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 174 ''UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Oleinik'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 174'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 32'' and ''UFC Vegas 6'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 8, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in ...

, 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 Impa Armond Kasanganay (born January 17, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Light heavyweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). He formerly competed in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions of Ultimat ...

. He won the bout via knockout in two in highlight reel fashion, delivering a jumping spinning back kick after Kasangany had caught one of his kicks, knocking him out cold. For this knockout, Buckley not only earned the

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

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 Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

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 Jordan Michael Wright (born October 7, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division. He formely fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Wright started gymnastics at age 4, but after watchi ...

UFC 255 ''UFC 255: Figueiredo vs. Perez'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 21, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United ...

on November 21, 2020. He won the fight via knockout in round two. This win earned him the ''

'' award. Buckley faced

Alessio Di Chirico Alessio Di Chirico (born December 12, 1989) is an Italian former mixed martial artist who competed in Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Di Chirico was born in Rome, Italy. He attended University of Fo ...

on January 16, 2021 at

UFC on ABC 1 ''UFC on ABC: Holloway vs. Kattar'' (also known as ''UFC on ABC 1'' and ''UFC Fight Island 7'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 16, 2021, at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island ...

. He lost the fight in the first round via a head kick knockout. Buckley faced

Antônio Arroyo João Antônio Barbosa Arroyo (born 1 July 1989) is a Brazilian male mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division. He has formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background After graduating with a business ...

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

award. Buckley was scheduled to face Abdul Razak Alhassan on January 15, 2022 at

UFC on ESPN 32 ''UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Chikadze'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 32 '' and ''UFC Vegas 46'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 15, 2022 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterpri ...

. However, the pairing was cancelled after Alhassan withdrew for undisclosed reasons and the pair was rescheduled to

UFC Fight Night 201 ''UFC Fight Night: Walker vs. Hill'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 201'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 59'' and ''UFC Vegas 48'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 19, 2022, at the UFC ...

. Buckley won the fight via split decision. Buckley was scheduled to face Abusupiyan Magomedov on June 4, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 207 ''UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Rozenstruik'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 207'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 65'' or ''UFC Vegas 56'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 4, 2022, at the ...

. However, the bout was cancelled for unknown reasons. Buckley faced Albert Duraev on June 18, 2022 at

UFC on ESPN 37 ''UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Emmett'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 37'' and ''UFC Austin'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 18, 2022 at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, United ...

. 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

award. Buckley faced

Nassourdine Imavov Nasourdin Abdoulazimovitch Imavov (born March 1, 1995) is a French mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of April 11, 2023, he is #12 in the UFC middleweight rankings. Backgro ...

on September 3, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 209 ''UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Tuivasa'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 209'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 67'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 3, 2022, at Accor Arena in Paris, Fra ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Buckley faced

Chris Curtis Chris Curtis (born Christopher Crummey; 26 August 1941 – 28 February 2005) was an English drummer and singer who was best known for being with the 1960s Beat music, beat band The Searchers (band), The Searchers. He originated the concept be ...

on December 10, 2022 at

UFC 282 ''UFC 282: Błachowicz vs. Ankalaev'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It took place on December 10, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United ...

. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round two.

Championships and accomplishments

(Four times) **2020 Knockout of the Year vs.

**2020 UFC President's Choice Performance of the Year vs.

**2020 UFC Honors Knockout of the Year vs.

MMAjunkie.com MMA Junkie is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It was founded in 2006, and is owned by Gannett Company since 2011. The site and its content have been featured in ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine'', ''ESPN The Ma ...

**2020 October Knockout of the Month vs. Impa Kasanganay **2020 Knockout of the Year vs. Impa Kasanganay *

MMA Fighting ''MMA Fighting'' is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). Founded in 2001, the site is notable for its breaking news coverage, podcast series, and ''The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani''. Overview ''MMAFighting.com'' w ...

Bleacher Report Bleacher Report (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sport and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. Bleacher Report was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in Aug ...

, MMA Mania, CombatPress.com, Cageside Press,

BT Sport BT Sport is a group of broadcasting of sports events, pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, Warner Bros. Dis ...

Sherdog Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It also has many forums and discussion pages on the many topics of MMA like records, promotions, etc. The site is a member of the CraveOnline network and provides MM ...

, MMA Weekly **2020 Knockout of the Year vs. Impa Kasanganay *

World MMA Awards The World MMA Awards are awards presented by ''Fighters Only'' magazine to honor exceptional performance in various aspects of mixed martial arts. Winners are presented with the ''Fighters Only silver statuette''. The World MMA Awards are divided ...

**2021

Knockout of the Year '' The Ring'' magazine was established in 1922 and has named a Knockout of the Year since 1989, based on the magazine's writers' criteria. Knockouts of the Year by decade 1980s * 1989: Michael Nunn ''KO 1'' Sumbu Kalambay 1990s * 1990: Terr ...

vs.

at UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen Voting period for 2021 awards ran through July 2020 to July 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Mixed martial arts record

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, KO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:49 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–5 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Tuivasa , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France , , - , Win , align=center, 15–4 , Albert Duraev , TKO (doctor stoppage) , UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Emmett , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

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Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

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Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Chris Harris , TKO (punches) , LFA 76 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:08 ,

Park City, Kansas Park City is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States, and a suburb of Wichita. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,333. History The first Park City was founded in 1870. Located to the northwest of Wichita, it w ...

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St. Charles, Missouri Saint Charles (commonly abbreviated St. Charles) is a city in, and the county seat of, St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 65,794 at the 2010 census, making St. Charles the ninth-largest city in Missouri. Situated on t ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Vinicius de Jesus , Decision (split) , Bellator 185 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is an area in the New England town, town of Montville, Connecticut, Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a Administrative divisions of Connecticut#Village, neighborhood, section of town, village in southeastern Montville, at the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Justin Patterson , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 175 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Rosemont, Illinois Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Located immediately northwest of Chicago, as of the 2010 census it had a population of 4,202. The village was incorporated in 1956, though it had been settled long before that. Whi ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–1 , Jackie Gosh , TKO (punches) , Bellator 164 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:44 ,

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, Israel , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Chris Heatherly , KO (knee) , Bellator 157: Dynamite 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:14 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Kyle Kurtz , TKO (knee and punches) , Shamrock FC: Fuel , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:34 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Kalel Robinson , TKO (punches) , Shamrock FC: Showdown , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:01 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Bryant West , TKO (punches) , Shamrock FC: Xtreme Fight Night 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:28 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Wesley Sullivan , TKO (punches) , Shamrock FC: Nemesis , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:46 ,

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Buckley, Joaquin 1994 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Sportspeople from St. Louis Mixed martial artists from Missouri