Joaquin Buckley is looking forward to his next fight in the UFC being booked and believes he is one win away from winning the welterweight title despite his recent loss to Kamaru Usman.
Buckley expressed his displeasure in a video posted to his YouTube channel days after the main event of UFC 322, which pitted 170-pound champion Jacques de la Maddalena against Islam Makhachev in New York, saying Usman deserved to be next in line given his history in the sport.
“I truly believe Usman is the right guy to fight for that belt next,” Buckley said. “We’re going to have a great match between ‘JDM’ and Islam. Regardless of whether JDM or Islam wins that match, I truly believe that Usman will be the next one to fight for that belt, because once again he’s done a lot and accomplished a lot.”
“You’ve seen Dana White. pound 4 pounds A podcast where Usman talks about being the welterweight GOAT over Georges St-Pierre. You have to respect him, right? Because Usman, after all, has already established himself as a fighter, fighting someone like Khamzat (Chimaev) on 10 days’ notice and still giving the boogeyman a lot of trouble and a lot of problems. And if it had been a decent five-round fight, he probably would have taken Khamzat out of it. Perhaps he would have finished him. We should respect the man and let him fight for the strap again. ”
Buckley was called up by Gabriel Bonfim after his recent UFC main event win over Randy Brown, but complained that he “doesn’t know” when he’ll next step into the Octagon as there hasn’t been a big name he’d like to face since the fight against Usman in June.
“I feel like my name has been silenced since the fight with Kamaru Usman, you know?” Buckley said. “A lot of people in my department don’t want to say my name because they think I’m like Voldemort.”
If it’s up to Buckley, his next fight will be against Shavkat Rakhmonov.
“You all know I’m coming back, brother, and I’m coming back with a vengeance,” Buckley said. “But I don’t want just some random fighter. Give me a shitty name. Give me someone who can level up. Because like I said, I’m doing these promotions. I’ve been talking my shit for a long time. I need another big name. And I’m here to shout out to them, I’m going to do it right here. Shavkat! Did I say I want to come back? Early February? Come see your boy, Buck! ‘Cause you’re like, ‘Buck, make it easy and show the world we’ve been waiting for you. And I think it’s a great fight for me and Shafqat.’
Rakhmonov, who is undefeated at 7-0 in 19 professional bouts under the UFC banner, has not fought since his decision win over Ian Machado Garry in December 2024 due to a serious knee injury. Rakhmonov is reportedly aiming to return in early 2026.
“And once I accomplish that and knock out Shafkat, I believe I can win that belt next,” Buckley said. “But you already know, if Usman goes for that belt and he happens to win, as much as I love my brother, then there needs to be a rematch or my guy gets promoted. But either way, I’m coming for that championship.”
Several top-ranked welterweights are scheduled to compete in the past two weeks, with Leon Edwards taking on Carlos Prates and Sean Brady taking on Michael Morales at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 15, while Garry will fly to Doha to take on former champion Belal Muhammad.
“Ian Garry. You all know how we talked about him and his wife, right?” Mr Buckley said. “You’re talking about Sean Brady. He still blocks me on Instagram. You’re talking about JDM. I told him about getting a free nose job, right? And even this player who’s moving up the ranks now. They just don’t want to say my name, right? See, too. If I have a very easy job and I’m not as talented as many of you say, then think about it, why don’t they call me? I’m still No. 1 in the world, but I still have a great ranking and I’ve got a good name as well.
“But they’re going to fend me off like the plague. And like I said, he went through that threat, so kudos to Usman, right? He was able to fight me and raise his hand and win. But he still has the threat that he has. I knew it was me, and I knew that whenever I stood up I could knock him out. And he already knows for himself that I’m going to give a lot of trouble.”
Buckley was on a six-fight winning streak before losing to Usman at welterweight, which included victories over Colby Covington, Stephen Thompson and Vicente Luque.
“At the end of the day, come on, I’m a big name in the welterweight division and I’m going to keep shouting that,” Buckley said. “I keep saying that because no one does the type of fights that I’ve been doing. And in the 170 weight class, they’re all starting their careers in 2020 or 2021, but they’re putting out a resume that I didn’t submit within a year.” You’re not just defeating a ranked opponent, you’re going to the match beforehand and promoting the match, you’re going to go to the match, you’re going to do handshakes, you’re going to do seminars, you’re going out, you’re just being a performer like I was.
“There’s no one in the UFC who works as hard as Buckley. Like I said, the numbers will go up eventually, but I think it’s funny that it took one guy from all divisions to say my name. That must mean something.”
It was announced Thursday that Buckley’s next match will be against Iowa State All-American Pat Downey at the Real American Freestyle event on Nov. 29, replacing the injured Corey Anderson.