Michael Bisping liked everything from Joaquin Buckley at UFC on ESPN 56 – except his post-fight callout.
Buckley (19-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) impressed in his unanimous decision win over Nursulton Ruziboev (34-9-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) in Saturday’s welterweight co-main event from his home city of St. Louis.
“New Mansa” campaigned for a spot on the card, and made the most out of the opportunity – from engaging with the Uzbekistani fans, to putting on arguably his most well-rounded performance to date.
“Take a bow – this man is a star,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “He has got so much charisma. I’m telling you, Buckley owned fight week.”
Bisping admits he thought Buckley appeared overconfident against a dangerous opponent in Ruziboev, but was very impressed with how good he looked.
“Buckley was talking like (Ruziboev) was no threat, and I was concerned for him,” Bisping said. “I was like, ‘I think you’re taking this too lightly.’ I never said that to him, but that’s what I thought. I thought, ‘I don’t think you’re recognizing the threat, and there’s a potential for a great downfall.’ … He showed no signs of being under pressure. He showed no signs of being outskilled.
“In fact, he was the better fighter from start to finish – hitting double-leg takedowns, taking him down, wobbling him on the feet, almost finishing him in Round 3. Just a fantastic performance, a fantastic fight week – his star shot through the roof, and then he went too far.”
Buckley used his mic time with Bisping to call out Conor McGregor, who headlines UFC 303 against Michael Chandler. It’s safe to say Bisping thinks Buckley failed to capitalize on his big moment.
“Not the best callout,” Bisping said. “Listen, I like Joaquin Buckley. I’m not talking sh*t. But that fight with Conor McGregor is never going to happen, so you could say that potentially he wasted a callout. And then on top of that, then he went too far. He’s trying to be insulting and give McGregor a reason to want to fight him. He was calling his mom and grandma a ho, basically. I like a bit of sh*t talk, and then when he went that far, I’m like, ‘Oh sh*t, this is bad.’
“I think it was just in the moment with the adrenaline, with the big win, with his home crowd. He probably thought it was being funny, but I don’t think anyone particularly enjoyed that one. (He got) a great win over a tough opponent. The man’s got massive amounts of charisma, ridiculous knockout power, very athletic and he’s got a bright future. He should have called out somebody realistic, though.”
Buckley later acknowledged that the callout was unrealistic, and turned his attention to former title challenger Gilbert Burns.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 56.
