Joaquin Buckley explains why he is dropping down to welterweight at UFC Vegas 73
Joaquin Buckley is making the move down to welterweight.
Buckley began his UFC career at middleweight going 5-4 and is coming off a KO loss to Chris Curtis and before that, lost to Nassourdine Imavov by decision. Three of his four losses came by knockout and because of that, Buckley knew he needed to make a change, so he decided to make the move down to welterweight.
“I got tired of getting knocked out,” Buckley said at UFC Vegas 73 media day. “I ain’t going to lie. Being at 185, you’ve got a lot of heavy hitters out there. But one thing about me mentally is I’m not scared to fight anybody. But sometimes that’s the problem. It’s not about being scared. It’s about being smart. Right now, I feel like me being at 170, even though I took losses at 185, they prepared me for this moment at welterweight.”
Although Joaquin Buckley did have some success at middleweight, he believes he will be even better at welterweight and thinks he should have been a welterweight the entire time. He also says the weight cut won’t be a worry as he was 178lbs on Wednesday which is perfect for him.
“I should’ve been here the whole time, but it is what it is. I came here for that check. That’s the only reason why I was at middleweight. They gave me an opportunity at 185 when they see me fighting at 185 for LFA. So that’s why I stayed there. And me getting those knockouts at 185, I felt good there because a lot of people don’t realize I didn’t cut any weight to get to middleweight,” Buckley said. “I walked around at 185, 183. I was just able to walk into that cage and be me. Now I have to actually be disciplined at what I eat, my nutrition.”
Buckley is set to face Andre Fialho on Saturday night at UFC Vegas 73.
