Joaquin Buckley came out victorious over Nursulton Ruziboev on Saturday, May 11 at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs Nascimento. The pair squared off in the co-main event live from Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO.
The 170-pound bout went the full distance. The local favorite and No. 11-ranked contender defeated his opponent of Uzbekistan by decision. After three rounds, the scores were 30-27, 30-26 and 29-27, all in favor of the representative of the country-host.
Buckley improved to 19-6 and secured his fourth win in a row. In his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping, the 29-year-old St. Louis native called out Conor McGregor. Ireland’s former two-division UFC champion is scheduled to face Michael Chandler in a long-awaited showdown at UFC 303 on June 29 in Las Vegas. The TUF 31 rival coaches go head to head at welterweight.
“Who do I want next? He got a fight already booked up… But it’s only one name you should call out if you on this mic. A powerful name. That name is Conor McGregor,” Joaquin Buckley said.
“You [are] fighting at 170, but you ain’t fighting a welterweight, you [are] fighting a lightweight.”
“You said you built your weight up, but you [are] bullying Sean O’Malley and Ryan Garcia. Come and bully me. Come and bully me and let’s see what you [are] really about.”
30-year-old Nursulton Ruziboev dropped to 34-9-2, 2 NC. The defeat snapped his 10-fight winning streak.
Get UFC St. Louis: Lewis vs Nascimento full card results.