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#4. Joaquin Buckley scores another one for his UFC highlight reel by taking out Antonio Arroyo
After losing his last UFC fight to Alessio di Chirico via head kick, the jury was out on exactly how high Joaquin Buckley’s ceiling was.
‘New Mansa’ had scored the knockout of the year – if not the decade – in 2020 with his spinning kick KO of Impa Kasanganay. But if he couldn’t follow it up with more wins, his UFC future would have been in trouble.
Last night though, Buckley delivered the goods in impressive fashion. He took out Antonio Arroyo and gave fans a glimpse of a brighter future for him.
Interestingly, the first two rounds saw Arroyo land the more telling blows. One such strike was a brutal flying knee late in the second round that Buckley somehow ate up.
But the third round saw ‘New Mansa’ come out with far more conviction. He backed his Brazilian opponent up and the pressure eventually told.
A wild right hand appeared to connect with the side of Arroyo’s head, causing him to stumble slightly. Buckley wasted no time in following up with a Mortal Kombat-esque uppercut that dropped the Brazilian.
Buckley followed with some hammer fists, but they were largely academic; the fight was basically over as soon as the uppercut landed.
Was this the best performance from Buckley? Well, not exactly, but the knockout was explosive. At the end of the day, it’s knockouts that UFC fans will remember.
#3. Nate Maness pulls off a hell of a comeback against Tony Gravely
The bantamweight bout between Tony Gravely and Nate Maness was flying under the radar somewhat last night. But it turned into one of the event’s more memorable clashes thanks to a wild comeback.
Maness produced the finish, but after the first round, it was scarcely believable that such a comeback would be possible.
The two men went largely toe-to-toe in the first round. In the dying seconds, Gravely countered a jab with a huge right hand that dropped Maness.
It looked like the fight was over. Gravely quickly dropped heavy leather over the top in an attempt to finish ‘Mayhem,’ only for the buzzer to signal the end of the round.
Maness somehow made it out of his corner for the second, but nobody really expected him to survive for much longer.
Incredibly, though, he somehow recovered – and midway through the round, nailed Gravely with a right hand of his own. The shot caused a delayed reaction before Gravely stumbled to the ground, and Maness wasted no time in sealing the deal on the mat.
This was both an explosive finish and a stirring comeback from Maness. It came as no surprise to see him awarded an extra $50k for his troubles.
