Joaquin Buckley plans to use Colby Covington as springboard to UFC title fight
Not familiar with the name of Joaquin Buckley? Perhaps one would at least recognize his handiwork.Four years ago, Buckley’s jaw-dropping, spinning back kick knockout of Impa Kasanganay went viral as the St.Louis native picked up his first UFC victory.But then, as now, the up-and-comer was not satisfied to be best known for merely one sensational combat sports moment.“I feel like I didn’t settle for just that situation where, when I got the most viral knockout in 2020, I knew that I didn’t want to live by that,” Buckley, a winner of five straight and 3-0 this year, explained Wednesday to The Post.
“I knew I had way more to offer and way more to give.… I’m glad I’m in a situation where I’ve been on the winning streak and now I’m getting so close to that title because, at the end of the day, that’s what I want to be known for: not for a kick but for being a champion.”A victory Saturday (10 p.m., ESPN) in Buckley’s first UFC headliner against Colby Covington, who was unsuccessful for the third time in challenging for the undisputed welterweight title one year ago, would go a long way to reaching that lofty goal.The 170-pound division is top-heavy, with champion Belal Muhammad expected to face challenger Shavkat Rakhmonov as soon as this coming spring, with the likes of Jack Della Maddalena and Sean Brady on the upswing in the UFC’s top five.Buckley’s big year, which included victories over Vicente Luque, Nursulton Ruziboev and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, lifted him into the rankings, and he enters the fight in Tampa, Fla., with a No.
9 next to his name.But Buckley (20-6, 14 finishes), who originally was to face Ian Machado Garry this weekend before an injury to the champ reshuffled each of the final two UFC events of the year, sees Covington as the better stepping stone to where he wants to go anyway.With his aim on another impressive victory over the former interim welterweight champ, on the heels of a knockout of Wonderboy in Oc...