Buckley sets his sights on Burns after White shuts down McGregor challenge

Joaquin Buckley walked the walk and talked the talk at UFC St. Louis, defeating tough rising prospect Nursulton Ruziboev in a one sided contest to deliver an exciting victory for his hometown crowd. It was the culmination of weeks of self-hype, from demanding a spot on the Missouri card at the UFC 300 presser to making himself the center of attention all through fight week.

The future is bright for Buckley, but not so bright that he’ll get what he asked for during his in-cage interview: a fight with Conor McGregor. “New Mansa” dropped a pretty spicy call out directed at the Irish sports star, insulting several generations of McGregors.

“I researched the McGregor name and you come from a long, long line of McHoes,” Buckley declared. “Your dad was a b—h. Your grandfather was a p—y. Your great-great-grandfather was a p—y. So, I guess it’s safe to say that your mom was a p—y. And guess what? If you don’t answer, and I’ll bet the money I don’t even have that you won’t, everyone will know I’m telling the truth.”

“It’s my time, and if you want to be king you have to behead the king. It’s time to take the throne.”

UFC CEO White refused to entertain a McGregor vs. Buckley match-up at the post fight press conference, giving the idea a simple “No.” Fortunately, Buckley had a more realistic option ready to share … while refusing to completely give up on the idea of McGregor.

“I’m definitely not going to get that, but why not take chances, right?” Buckley said. “I’ve been doing it up until this moment, so why not make the biggest call out that I can make? If Michael Chandler doesn’t show up for the [McGregor] fight, ‘New Mansa’ will be ready.”

And if that doesn’t work out?

“Gilbert Burns, I think it’s a beautiful fight,” he suggested. “A beautiful match-up. I don’t know when he’s going to be cleared or when he’s going to be ready, but Gilbert Burns, definitely.”

Burns just lost a brutal fight against Jack Della Maddalena in March and probably shouldn’t fight again til the end of 2024. So unless Buckley wants to take a break and squander all this hype, he might need a third option.