Impa Kasanganay responds to referee Marc Goddard's praise after KO loss to Joaquin Buckley

Impa Kasanganay entered his Middleweight bout against Joaquin Buckley as an undefeated prospect.

Kasanganay competed on Dana White’s Contender Series and was regarded as a talented hardworking prospect in the Middleweight division.

Although Kasanganay was expected to defeat his opponent Buckley at UFC Fight Island 5, the former ended up being the recipient of a possible Knockout of the year candidate at the hands of Buckley. The video of the Knockout has gone viral on social media as well.

Impa Kasanganay responds to Marc Goddard’s praise after brutal KO loss against Joaquin Buckley

Joaquin Buckley had suffered a vicious TKO loss to Kevin Holland earlier this year, and as such, the former was considered to be an underdog coming into his fight against Impa Kasanganay.

The fight between Buckley and Kasanganay was a closely contested clash that witnessed both fighters pursuing the finish with multiple aggressive striking exchanges.

The first round was an entertaining back-and-forth affair and round two also featured some high-octane striking exchanges as well. However, the course of the fight changed when Buckley attempted a left body kick against Kasanganay.

Impa Kasanganay caught Joaquin Buckley’s left body kick, only for the latter to immediately land a spectacular spinning heel kick right on the Kasanganay's face.

Kasanganay’s body went limp before it even hit the mat while Buckley jogged away from the former.

The referee instantly waved off the fight, thereby earning Buckley a KO victory over Kasanganay. The matchup between Kasanganay and Buckley happened on the preliminary card of the UFC Fight Island 5 event.

Buckley’s incredible KO over Kasanganay went viral that even internet users who aren’t MMA fans have been discussing the fight on different social media platforms.

UFC President Dana White went on to address the jaw-dropping spinning heel kick KO via his official Twitter account and alluded to it potentially being the greatest KO in UFC history.

Both Joaquin Buckley and Impa Kasanganay have been lauded by the MMA community for being respectful towards one another in the aftermath of their grueling fight.

Veteran MMA referee Marc Goddard put forth a tweet to laud Impa Kasanganay's attitude, spirit and conduct despite being on the losing side. Goddard’s statement read as follows:

“Even though the result didn’t go his way (and a huge congratulations to Joaquin Buckley for the truly spectacular) I must say @kingimpa attitude, spirit & conduct is an absolute joy to be around. Any man can learn a positive thing or two from you. What a man!”

Kasanganay responded to Goddard’s kind words and put forth a tweet of his own, stating:

“Much respect you sir @marcgoddard_uk ! Thank you I love what I get to do. Came to fight left of my shield. God bless you and I appreciate your message. I hope to see you soon. Definitely Huge congrats on a such game shot @Newmansa94 way to fight.”

Much respect you sir @marcgoddard_uk ! Thank you I love what I get to do. Came to fight left of my shield. God bless you and I appreciate your message. I hope to see you soon 💪🏿 Definitely Huge congrats on a such game shot @Newmansa94 way to fight. https://t.co/zSHkdrNhXw

— Impa Kasanganay (@kingimpa) October 11, 2020

Impa Kasanganay looks to return to winning ways

Impa Kasanganay issued yet another statement in the aftermath of what was his first loss as a professional MMA competitor.

Kasanganay noted via an Instagram post that he intends to improve and that the best is yet to come.

What’s your take on the Marc Goddard and Impa Kasanganay’s opinions? Sound off in the comments.