Despite owning one of the most insane knockouts in the history of MMA, Khamzat Chimaev and Darren Till can’t identify Joaquin Buckley.
Most UFC fans who follow the sport regularly would be familiar with Buckley’s viral knockout which won the MMA Junkie’s 2020 Knockout of the Year. The spinning back kick out of nowhere while his other leg was caught landed on the jaw of Impa Kasanganay, creating a highlight for the ages.
That is unless your name is Chimaev or Till.
One would assume that two fighters who have competed in Buckley’s division would be familiar with his work, and maybe they have seen the highlight, but they couldn’t put the two together.
After ceremonial weigh-ins at UFC 273, Buckley approached Till and Chimaev backstage to play matchmaker, as caught on a behind-the-scenes video posted to Chimaev’s YouTube channel. Chimaev was just minutes removed from facing off with his opponent at the pay-per-view event, former title challenger Gilbert Burns.
Buckley dismissed fighting Chimaev because he has settled on fighting at welterweight, but asked Till if he was ready to get back to action.
Till immediately seemed interested and asked if he would be ready for July. Buckley responded, “July? Let’s fight in July. Come on, let’s go. London?”
” You gonna be ready?” Till responded.
“I been ready,” Buckley answered. “Let’s get money.”
The two men shook hands and the impromptu, yet respectful matchmaking seemed complete. As Buckley turned to walk away, Chimaev asked Till, “Who is that guy?” Till laughed and responded, “I don’t know.”
Chimaev found the interaction to be distasteful, so he chirped at Buckley as security stepped between both parties to ensure they remained separated.
“Let’s fight now,” Chimaev said. “You want to play gangster, I’m going to f*ck you up.”
Buckley could be heard off camera saying he was down to scrap, but would rather do it for the money. This is prize-fighting, after all.
“F*cking b*tch,” Chimaev continued as he and Till walked away. “Nobody knows him. He takes a picture then talks about he wants to fight.”
Check out the interaction in the video above, along with more behind-the-scenes from Chimaev’s fight week at UFC 273 where he defeated Burns.
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