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Joaquin Buckley found time to take a playful jab at retired UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov while gearing up for the biggest fight of his career. While weighing in on Islam Makhachev’s move to the welterweight division, Buckley dismissed any notion that the lightweight champion was ducking Ilia Topuria.
Buckley claimed that Makhachev has already proven his dominance at 155 pounds and has little left to gain by continuing to face smaller featherweight champions during a recent conversation with Demetrious Johnson. During the same conversation, he also suggested that Nurmagomedov avoided welterweight because he understood his physical limitations.
Speaking in a recent episode of the MIGHTYcast, Buckley said:
“No, it’s a legitimate move because how many 145s are you going to keep beating up? You know what I’m saying?... So you already did that right, he already took that pound-for-pound spot from my boy [Alexander] Volkanovski. So his only option is to move up and really challenge himself if he wants to, and that’s at 170."
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Buckley added:
“He's gonna be over his brother Khabib. I ain’t going to lie, that’s the only thing Khabib was missing, you know? But Khabib was smart, he knew he couldn't handle guys at 170. His arms were too short."
Check out Joaquin Buckley's comments below (28:10 onwards):
Buckley headlines this weekend’s UFC card against former welterweight king Kamaru Usman. With six straight wins at 170 pounds, Buckley is on the cusp of title contention soon. A win over Usman would be the breakthrough moment he’s been chasing.
Joaquin Buckley talks about a potential clash against Ian Garry
Joaquin Buckley has been pitching a showdown with Ian Garry as the next big welterweight fight. From a matchmaking perspective, the timing lines up perfectly, especially with some breathing room before Islam Makhachev faces Jack Della Maddalena.
He sees a golden window to book the fight and insists it belongs on a pay-per-view. Speaking about the matchup in the aforementioned episode of MIGHTYcast, Buckley said:
"Now look, I'm going to tell you this right, the only way they have [this fight], they got to make [this] pay-per-view. They got to make that pay-per-view because we going to run that. I need y’all to buy that for $79.99... Buck versus Cuck. Buck versus Cuck going to feed nations. I swear to God."
