Joaquin Buckley commenced his UFC career with a TKO loss to Kevin Holland in August of this year.
Buckley previously competed for Bellator MMA and had finished many of his fights by way of KO/TKO, prior to his UFC debut.
In the aftermath of a rather disappointing defeat at the hands of Kevin Holland, Buckley was looking to return to the win column in his Middleweight bout at UFC Fight Island 5.
Joaquin Buckley knocks Impa Kasanganay out cold with incredible spinning heel kick
Joaquin Buckley put on one of the most impressive performances of his career in his Middleweight fight against Impa Kasanganay at UFC Fight Island 5.
Kasanganay has notably competed on Dana White’s Contender Series and held an undefeated professional Mixed Martial Arts record entering his fight against Buckley.
Kasanganay’s previous fight was a unanimous decision victory against Maki Pitolo at UFC Vegas 8 in August of this year.
The Middleweight fight between Joaquin Buckley and Impa Kasanganay was a part of the UFC Fight Island 5 event’s preliminary card.
The fight was an entertaining back-and-forth contest right from the moment it got underway, with both Buckley and Kasanganay landing crisp strikes on one another.
The first round of their matchup was closely contested and so was round two – Buckley and Kasanganay appeared to be sitting down on their strikes as the fight progressed, thereby increasing the risk for both fighters of getting countered and hurt.
Kasanganay was seemingly increasing the pressure in the striking realm against Buckley, until they approached a stalemate.
With neither fighter being able to dissuade the other from disengaging and taking a break from the non-stop striking exchanges, Buckley initiated yet another exchange by landing a left body kick.
However, Kasanganay caught Buckley’s leg and in the blink of an eye, Buckley turned the tables on his foe by landing a beautiful spinning heel kick right on Kasanganay’s face.
UFC President Dana White suggests that Joaquin Buckley’s KO might be the greatest KO in UFC history
UFC President Dana White tweeted out a video clip featuring the amazing KO and insinuated that it might be the greatest knockout in UFC history.
Joaquin Buckley’s spinning heel kick landed on Impa Kasanganay’s face, and the latter was visibly separated from his senses before his body even hit the ground.
Buckley jogged away after landing the kick, only to turn around and witness his opponent laid out flat on the mat, with the referee immediately waving off the fight.
Buckley subsequently revealed that he’d practiced the kick in training but had never landed it in an actual fight before.
Furthermore, Buckley added that Kasanganay was advancing hard at him, which is why the former figured he’d simply go ahead and attack Kasanganay with the kick.
What do you think about Joaquin Buckley’s stunning kick KO? Sound off in the comments.