‘I’d Definitely Take That Fight’

If Joaquin Buckley can’t finagle a fight with Kamaru Usman, he’s willing to settle for Colby Covington.

‘New Mansa’ extended his unbeaten streak to five at UFC 307, securing a third-round knockout against Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson and launching himself into the welterweight division’s top 10. Immediately following the win, Buckley called for a clash with former titleholder Kamaru Usman, a statement he echoed during a recent interview with Luke Thomas.

“I really don’t expect him to push for that fight just because of how difficult the fight might be for him,” Buckley said. “I’m still working on things, but I really feel like when it comes to the standup, I don’t think Usman really has anything for me.

“I think my cardio and pace is definitely gonna challenge him and usually he’s the one that’s pushing that narrative on his conditioning, but I think that I can push my conditioning past Usman at this point in my career.”

If Usman isn’t interested, Joaquin Buckley would welcome a fight with ‘Chaos’

Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like Usman is much too interested in a fight with Buckley. Of course, ‘New Mansa’ already has another name in mind that could help him break into the division’s top five. That being three-time welterweight title challenger Colby Covington.

“The last fight that he had was against Leon [Edwards] and that was about a year ago,” Buckley said of Covington. “Time ain’t on nobody’s side so if you really want to show the world what you’ve been up to and how you’ve been working, you got to fight. You know that I’m happy to go and find out myself too with Colby Covington if he’s not got a fight lined up.

“I’d definitely be willing to take that fight. That’s somebody that has fought for the belt, has proven himself, highly ranked in the division for 170, so why not?”

2019 was the last time Covington has fought twice in a single year. Since then, he’s barely averaged one fight per year, going 2-2 in the process. But despite the bouts of inactivity and the lack of notable wins, ‘Chaos’ is still holding strong as the sixth-ranked contender in the division making him a prime target for outliers looking to fight there way towards a shot at gold.