Joaquin Buckley made the a lot of the St. Louis homecoming he campaigned weeks for.
In Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 56 co-main occasion at Enterprise Middle, Buckley (19-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) despatched the followers right into a frenzy when he defeated Uzbekistan’s Nursulton Ruziboev (34-9-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) by unanimous choice (30-27, 30-26, 29-27).
A inhabitants of Uzbek followers made their presence identified through the walkouts, however the noise they made paled compared to that over the native St. Louis viewers as they cheered on one among their very own. In a shock transfer, Buckley walked to the cage with an Uzbekistan flag.
As soon as the motion started, the gang cheered and chanted for Buckley, who absorbed some heavy punches from Ruziboev and charged by means of for a takedown. Buckley managed Ruziboev on the bottom for a brief interval earlier than they rose up and separated.
Ruziboev tagged Buckley with a number of extra photographs and sprinted throughout the cage for an enormous flying knee. Nonetheless, Buckley planted him. As soon as again up, Ruziboev landed some extra.
WHAT A FIGHT 👏 #UFCSTLOUIS pic.twitter.com/ZT5ibxTkfL
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) Might 12, 2024
In Spherical 2, Buckley took Ruziboev down once more. The theme was repetitive all through the spherical. As soon as Ruziboev obtained up, Buckley planted him once more.
Issues obtained wild in Spherical 3, as Buckley rocked Ruziboev and dropped him. As Buckley swarmed, Ruziboev’s lengthy legs flailed for upkicks. Ruziboev scrambled up. Buckley rocked Ruziboev once more and mounted the Uzbek fighter. Buckley rained down punches, a lot to the delight of the St. Louis devoted.
Referee Keith Peterson warned Ruziboev to maneuver. Ruziboev adopted instructions, reversed Buckley, and ended up on prime. However earlier than lengthy, Buckley was again on prime. Ruziboev survived hazard and made it again to his toes, nonetheless. The 2 swung (with numerous misses) up till the ultimate bell.
After the win, Buckley referred to as out UFC star Conor McGregor, who returns from a close to four-year layoff June 29 vs. Michael Chandler.
“Conor McGregor, I would like you,” Buckley stated. “You combating at 170, however you ain’t combating a welterweight. You’re combating a light-weight midget. Come at me. You stated you constructed your weight up, however you’re bullying Sean O’Malley and Ryan Garcia. Come and bully me, canine. Let’s see what you’re actually about. I did analysis on the McGregor identify, and also you come from an extended, lengthy line of McHoes.
“Your daddy was a hoe. You granddaddy was a hoe. Your nice, nice grandpappy was a hoe. So I suppose it’s protected to say, your momma raised a hoe. And guess what? In case you don’t reply, and I guess the cash I ain’t even obtained that you just gained’t, the entire world is aware of I’m telling the reality. It’s my time, and if you wish to be the king you’ve obtained to behead the king. It’s time to take the throne.”
He is obtained his eyes on ONE particular person after tonight’s victory 👀@NewMansa94 | #UFCStLouis pic.twitter.com/rPsQzc8W2a
— UFC (@ufc) Might 12, 2024
With the victory, Buckley continues his ascent up the ladder and wins his fourth-straight struggle. His earlier win was a TKO towards Vicente Luque in March. Instantly after the win and within the days that adopted, Buckley campaigned for a slot on the cardboard in St. Louis. He even went so far as to ask UFC CEO Dana White for a struggle through the UFC 300 press convention.
The struggle was Ruziboev’s welterweight debut. A 6’5″ fighter, his different two UFC appearances got here at middleweight, although he does have earlier expertise as gentle as light-weight. A ten-fight profitable streak is snapped in defeat.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 56 outcomes embody:
- Joaquin Buckley def. Nursulton Ruziboev through unanimous choice (30-27, 30-26, 29-27)
- Carlos Ulberg def. Alonzo Menifield through knockout (punches) – Spherical 1, 0:12
- Diego Ferreira def. Mateusz Rebecki through TKO (strikes) – Spherical 3, 4:51
- Sean Woodson def. Alex Caceres through unanimous choice (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Waldo Cortes-Acosta def. Robelis Despaigne through unanimous choice (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Chase Hooper def. Viacheslav Borshchev through submission (D’Arce choke) – Spherical 2, 3:00
- Esteban Ribovics def. Terrance McKinney through knockout (head kick) – Spherical 1, 0:37
- Tabatha Ricci def. Tecia Pennington through break up choice (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Trey Waters def. Billy Goff through unanimous choice (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Charles Johnson def. Jake Hadley through unanimous choice (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Veronica Hardy def. JJ Aldrich through unanimous choice (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
For extra on the cardboard, go to MMA Junkie’s occasion hub for UFC on ESPN 56.
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