Joaquin Buckley Calls Out Kamaru Usman for April Clash in Kansas City: “Let Me Get a Former Champ.”
After earning the biggest win of his career in December, Joaquin Buckley has his sights set on a former world champion.
‘New Mansa’ extended his unbeaten streak to six with a dominant doctor’s stoppage TKO against Colby Covington at UFC Tampa.
Now, Buckley is lobbying for a fight with the man who beat ‘Chaos’ twice inside the Octagon — former UFC welterweight titleholder Kamaru Usman. During a recent interview with Parry Punch, Buckley called for a clash with Usman, suggesting the two could headline the UFC’s return to Kansas City on April 26.
“I would like a former champion on my resume and would be Kamaru be it, right? Got Colby, right? Interim champ,” Buckley said. “But I’m like, let me get a former champ too. And somebody that was decorated to the point where they thought he was gonna be the welterweight GOAT at some point in his career. Let me go ahead, get him up out of there, get busy with him, and then go get my belt, right?
“Because I feel like it’s the names, right? Kamaru Usman just saw that, and he knows he’s next. We headline anyway.
I heard something special is going on in Kansas.”
Thus far, six fights have been announced for the Fight Night card in the Heart of America, but no main event.
Is joaquin buckley in consideration for kamaru usman’s return opponent?
While Buckley has been busy working his way up the contender’s ladder, the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ has been sitting on the sidelines after suffering his third-straight loss against Khamzat Chimaev in October 2023.
The majority decision defeat against ‘Borz’ came after Usman had already fallen twice against ex-champ Leon Edwards—dropping his 170-pound crown to ‘Rocky’ before failing to reclaim it in a rematch the following year.
Despite his inactivity, Usman has remained adamant about returning to the Octagon before calling it a career. Previously, he’s floated the idea of fighting names like Ian Machado Garry, Jack Della Maddalena, and, of course, reigning welterweight king Belal Muhammad. However, the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ did leave the door open for a potential move to middleweight, if the fight is right.
“It’s an interesting spot. I’ve never been in a spot like this… For me, I made my career being a welterweight…. But, for the right fight, middleweight makes sense,” Usman said on the Anik & Florian podcast last summer.
