SALT LAKE CITY – Joaquin Buckley thinks his UFC 307 finish of Stephen Thompson earned him a big fight in the welterweight division, and he’s putting a target on Kamaru Usman’s head. Buckley (21-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) extended his perfect run since dropped to 170 pounds Saturday when he scored a third-round knockout of former title challenger Thompson at Delta Center. After the fight, he took the microphone and called out Usman (20-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC). “(I’m) 5-0 in the welterweight division right now,” Buckley told reporters, including MMA Junkie, post-fight at UFC 307. “Me putting on a tear, I feel like at the end of the day Usman being a former champion will kind of prove and cement my name that I should fight for a title next.” Usman is currently on a three-fight losing skid and hasn’t competed since a majority decision loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 in October 2022. The former titleholder has publicly entertained a variety of matchups in recent months, and also seemed to acknowledge Buckley mentioning his name with some emojis on X .
Read more: