Joaquin Buckley bashed everyone in the UFC welterweight division for not fighting often.
Buckley believes the top 170-pounders are wasting time, even though the division is stacked and there are many exciting matchups.
New Mansa, on the other hand, last fought against Kamaru Usman in June 2025 and lost by unanimous decision.
Buckley is eager to get back in octagon and had earlier launched fiery attacks on Shavkat Rakhmonov while calling out the Kazakh fighter. ‘Nomad’ has been sidelined due to injury following his UFC 310 fight with Ian Machado Garry. He was set to return in 2026, but reports say he re-injured the same knee and recently had to undergo surgery. It is expected that he will be out of action for several more months and that is why he was removed from the official rankings.
In addition to Rakhmonov, welterweight champion Islam Makhachev, who was crowned at UFC 322 last year, will return to make his first title defense after Ramadan 2026.
No. 2 ranked Ian Machado Garry last competed at UFC Qatar, and Carlos Prates and Michael Morales last fought at UFC 322. All of these fighters are coming off wins in their most recent fights and are eager for a title shot. However, only one can take a step up at a time.
Joaquin Buckley is leaving for the UFC welterweight division due to being inactive
Recently, Joaquin Buckley expressed his frustration with his fellow welterweights for not competing often. He revealed that he has no news on his upcoming fight but wants to talk to Jack Della Maddalena first before adding:
“Right now the division is at a standstill. This is crazy. Look, the matchmakers know their job. They know it better than me. Right now they have the hottest division and there’s no one fighting.”
Joaquin Buckley added:
‘You have Islam [Makhachev] playing wrestling ball out there. You have [Carlos] Talks about partying and going out there. You have [Michael] Morales there twerking and gyrating. You still have ‘JDM’ in the house, crying. You have Leon [Edwards] missing, again. You have Belal [Muhammad] trying to sell hot meals. Ian Machado Garry is in the corner watching. Boy, I don’t know what’s going on… And Shavkat [Rakhmonov] is gone.”
Check out Joaquin Buckley’s comments below:
Ian Machado Garry and Carlos Prates will separately tease new fight news soon
A few hours earlier, Ian Machado Garry announced on Instagram that he is “In Camp” for his next fight.
Carlos Partes, on the other hand, posted a training clip and hinted that news of his next fight could emerge next week.
“New week, but the goal is the same. Great things are coming! ☎️ 👀”
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