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This past weekend, Joaquin Buckley was handed the most deflating loss of his career. Now, he has taken the time to reflect on the lopsided fight he had with Kamaru Usman, who dominated him for much of their five-round affair. The defeat was nothing short of embarrassing, and Buckley himself agrees.
The bout was defined by Buckley failing to land his patented combinations, landing more on Usman's arms than his chin or midsection. Yet, it was overshadowed by an even bigger failure on Buckley's part, which was his inability to stop 'The Nigerian Nightmare' from outwrestling and outgrappling him for long stretches.
"Every round, he took me down, kept me there. I couldn't get back up to my feet. I'm looking at Mike Beltran, like, 'Bro, come on. Stand us up. At least one time, let me get back up to my feet.' I'm not gonna lie to y'all, I feel so embarrassed, man, because of that loss.
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"I feel so humiliated, man, because of that loss. But at the same time, I gotta bow my head. Usman showed me who he was. That night, it really showed there's levels to this game."
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Check out Joaquin Buckley's thoughts on his recent loss:
Ultimately, Buckley showed reverence for Usman, who is among the greatest welterweights of all time. Unfortunately, the loss snapped his six-fight win streak and turned his dreams of fighting for the title to dust, for now.
He will now have to rebuild and potentially seek a more lucrative fight at middleweight against Israel Adesanya.
Joaquin Buckley and Kamaru Usman have an opponent in common
Before his humbling loss to Kamaru Usman, Joaquin Buckley faced former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington at UFC Tampa. The fight, though, came under suboptimal circumstances for Covington, who stepped in on very short notice and was beaten in largely lopsided fashion.
His wrestling proved largely ineffective, and Buckley's striking and power were the difference makers, busting Covington up until the cageside doctor called an end to the bout toward the end of round three. Usman himself has fought Covington twice for the welterweight title, defeating him both times at UFC 245 and UFC 268.
