Joaquin Buckley kept things simple and kind when he attended UFC Tampa’s post-fight press conference on Saturday night.
“New Mantha” secured his sixth straight win in the night’s main event with a technical knockout victory over Colby Covington at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. When addressing the media after the card, Buckley only answered one question, but was able to cover a number of topics in his responses.
“My first main event was a huge success,” Buckley said. “I feel like the whole card was very successful and I got a lot of knockouts. I feel like my fight shouldn’t have been stopped. That’s the reality. You have to protect the fighter. I feel like 2025 is definitely my year and the year we definitely take over. That being said, this is on a six-fight winning streak within the UFC.
“I feel like I’ve done enough to put myself in a position to fight for the title again, knowing Shafqat.
[Rakhmonov] I was blessed with that fight next time, but if something happens to Shafqat or Belal. [Muhammad] I don’t want to get in the Octagon, I want to face them. All in all, I’ll keep this article short. I definitely want to take that throne in 2025, brother. we got out. ”
Rakhmonov staked his claim to No. 1 contender status with a decision win over Ian Garry in the co-headliner of UFC 310 a week ago. Rakhmonov is next expected to challenge Muhammad for the 170-pound gold medal, but the date for that bout has not yet been confirmed. Buckley was originally scheduled to face Gary at UFC Tampa before Muhammad withdrew from defending his title against Rachmonov at UFC 310. That led to lineup changes for the final two tournaments of the year, with Covington ultimately agreeing to face Buckley on short notice.
