There’s a new wave of contenders at welterweight and Joaquin Buckley is one of them.
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Over the last year, we’ve seen a massive turnover at 170 lbs with veterans like Leon Edwards, Colby Covington, Gilbert Burns and Stephen Thompson dropping their last fights to top prospects.
#7 UFC Welterweight Joaquin Buckley quickly rose through the ranks by TKO’ing Covington and Thompson, earning him a shot at former champion and pound-for-pound king Kamaru Usman in the main event of UFC Atlanta on Saturday.
Buckley expects to come out of Atlanta as a title contender, gunning for the gold wrapped around Jack Della Maddalena’s waist.
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Champion Della Maddalena will more than likely defend his title against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev next. Even with a title win, Buckley doubts Makhachev will stick around the division and thinks he’ll retire.
Believing he’s on another level than Usman and his fellow welterweights, Buckley was asked who he thought was the best fighter in the world and it’s certainly not Della Maddalena.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Joaquin Buckley ranks Ian Machado Garry as no. 1 welterweight
Ranking the new wave at welterweight, other than himself, Buckley believes his rival Ian Machado Garry to be better than the rest.
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“To be honest with you, Imma put Ian Garry as number one,” Buckley said of the #6-ranked contender in an interview with CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri.
“He’s a smart fighter. Stylistically, I will have to chase him down at all times, which makes him dangerous,” Buckley said of Machado Garry.
Machado Garry is 16-1 as a pro with a 9-1 record in the UFC. The Irishman has defeated Carlos Prates, Geoff Neal, Michael ‘Venom’ Page, and more. Machado Garry’s only loss came to the 19-0 Shavkat Rakhmonov on short notice last year at UFC 310.
“Shavkat, I’ll put second.
“JDM, I’ll put third,” Buckley said of champion Jack Della Maddalena.
“I’ll put Sean Brady as the last one. That’s my truest assessment.”
Joaquin Buckley says Sean Brady would be his ‘easiest fight’
The 18-1 Sean Brady is currently the #2-ranked UFC welterweight contender after submitting former champ Leon Edwards in March.
Buckley explained why Brady was so low in his personal rankings.
“I mean, come on now. You got knocked out by pillow hands,” Buckley referenced Brady’s standing TKO loss to Belal Muhammad in 2022.
“I gotta put you in the #4 slot, dog…
“I truly believe that, even with Brady being a good grappler and a good fighter, it’s just styles make fights.
“With me fighting Sean Brady, he’d be my easiest fight. Promise you.”
Brady picked Joaquin Buckley to defeat Kamaru Usman in the main event of UFC Atlanta this weekend.
