Joaquin Buckley Plans One Final UFC Fight After Grandmother's Plea

Joaquin Buckley is calling it a career — almost. After getting knocked out by Mike Malott in the UFC Edmonton main event last weekend, his third consecutive loss, Buckley posted a video Thursday saying he'll fight once more and then retire. That's 18 UFC fights in six years, an 11-7 Octagon record, and a decision he says came after praying on it and talking to his grandmother.

The reasoning was simple and heavy. Buckley said his grandmother, upset after watching the knockout, prayed with him over the phone and urged him to walk away before the sport takes too much. He described his mind as his biggest asset and said he doesn't want to lose it. But he can't bring himself to exit on a loss, so he's asked for one more trip to the cage.

How He Got Here

Buckley arrived in the UFC in 2020 and announced himself immediately, flattening Impa Kasanganay with a spinning back kick that won Knockout of the Year. He started at middleweight, dropped to welterweight in 2023, and promptly ripped off six straight wins to position himself just short of a title shot. Then came Kamaru Usman at UFC Atlanta last year — the first domino in the current three-fight slide.

The hardware tells you he was never a tune-up opponent. Across his run Buckley banked five Performance of the Night bonuses and a Fight of the Night, the kind of résumé that reads less like a journeyman and more like a guy the matchmakers trusted to deliver violence on short notice.

The Honest Math

Three losses in a row at 170 pounds leaves Buckley nowhere near the title picture, with no obvious next assignment to climb back into. He framed the retirement around longevity and his kids — the reason, he said, he's always fought at 110 percent. His brother has been in camp helping him prepare, and Buckley promised no shortcuts for the final walk.

So this is the plan: one more fight, done properly, and then out. No opponent, no date, no event yet. Just a fighter who's taken enough damage over 18 bouts deciding he'd rather leave with his mind intact than chase a rankings spot that isn't coming back. He wants the last one to be the best one. If he gets it, it'll be a rare clean exit in a sport that almost never grants them.