Joaquin Buckley says his next fight will be his last in the UFC. The 32-year-old welterweight made the call less than a week after a knockout loss handed him his third straight defeat.
A Finish That Changed Everything
Buckley lost the UFC Edmonton main event on October 17 to Canada’s Mike Malott, who finished him with a knee to the jaw 2 minutes and 32 seconds into round two. Both fighters had made weight at 170.5 pounds (77.3 kilograms) the day before. Buckley entered the fight ranked No. 8 at welterweight, a spot he had built largely on his finishing power. The loss, recorded in our UFC results, extended his skid to three fights, following defeats to Kamaru Usman and Sean Brady, both ranked opponents. It was Buckley’s first finish loss by strikes since his move up from middleweight, and it came against a fighter nine years his junior in UFC experience terms, a gap that fueled talk of a changing of the guard at 170 pounds.
Malott’s Rise
The win took Malott’s UFC record to 8-1, his fifth straight victory. He got it done in his home country, and Dana White praised the moment: “Obviously, for Mike to be the main event here in a big fight in his home country, that’s the way you want to get it done.” At the post-fight press conference, Malott said he wants Jack Della Maddalena next, with Belal Muhammad also mentioned as a possible opponent for his next step up.
Fighters around the UFC reacted to the knockout on social media. Gilbert Burns, who Malott himself knocked out in April, called it “what a finish.” Arnold Allen described it as a “beauty of a finish,” and Tatiana Suarez said she was stunned. Belal Muhammad noted he had predicted a standup finish. The wave of reactions underlines how quickly Malott has built a reputation as one of the division’s most dangerous finishers.
From Comeback Vow to Retirement Plan
Three days after the loss, Buckley had vowed to livestream his road back. By October 23 his message had shifted. He said he took time to think it over and talked with his grandmother, whose advice stuck with him: “Your mind is your biggest tool and your biggest asset, and you don’t want to lose it.”
Buckley said the Malott loss hit his family hard. “That fight right there, it was devastating, and it really affected my family,” he said. He wants to leave on a win: “I can’t leave on a loss. This the last one, but we’re gonna make the last one the best one.” The shift in tone between October 20 and October 23, from a filmed comeback to a planned exit, shows how hard the call was for a fighter still under contract with a loyal following.
No Opponent or Date Yet
No opponent or date has been set for Buckley’s farewell fight. He said protecting his long-term health and being present for his children factored into the decision, reasons more veteran fighters have leaned on in recent years. The UFC has not announced plans for the bout. Malott’s path looks busier by comparison, with a fight against Della Maddalena or Muhammad putting him directly in the welterweight top 10 picture and into recurring main-event contention.
A Welterweight Run With Real Highs
Buckley joined the UFC in 2020 as a middleweight before dropping to welterweight. He is best known for a spinning back kick knockout of Impa Kasanganay, still remembered as one of the most spectacular finishes of that year. Between 2023 and 2024 he won six straight fights, including victories over Stephen Thompson and Colby Covington, a run that put him in the division’s top 10. He now holds a 21-9 professional record. The last three losses have pushed him out of the UFC welterweight rankings, a spot Malott is now set to claim. Who the UFC lines up across from Buckley for his send-off remains the open question in a division that is not short on contenders. For American fans who followed his rise from a regional prospect to a highlight-reel UFC name, the retirement plan closes a run defined as much by knockout power as by its unpredictability.
