Joaquin Buckley has reflected on the greatest victory of his career — a stunning third-round knockout of Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson at UFC 307 earlier this year.
Buckley, speaking with The MMA Guru, shared how difficult it was to finish the striking veteran but highlighted the strategy involved in securing the decisive win.
“We had to get ‘Wonderboy’ out of there,” Buckley said in the interview. “He’s an OG, right? With the ‘Wonderboy’ fight, everybody loves ‘Wonderboy,’ and they were excited for him to come back. They thought he’d have an easy time with me, especially if we stayed standing. But this is mixed martial arts, so you take the fight wherever you need to. I switched it up, used my wrestling, backed him up against the cage, and we were able to transition and find the knockout.”
Buckley emphasized the significance of his achievement by pointing out the rarity of finishing Thompson by knockout. “It’s not easy to knock out ‘Wonderboy.’
The last person to do it was Anthony Pettis, and he was getting whooped the whole fight before he came off the cage with some ‘Showtime’ stuff.
But I feel like I systematically beat ‘Wonderboy’ to get that knockout, and that was the difference.”
Buckley to Headline UFC Tampa
The victory over Thompson has propelled Buckley into another high-stakes opportunity. This Saturday, he will headline UFC Tampa, the promotion’s final event of the year, in a bout against former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington.
Buckley, who will be gunning for the 15th knockout of his career, faces a significant challenge in Covington, who is known for his durability.
Covington is looking to bounce back from a unanimous decision loss to Leon Edwards nearly one year ago.
Across his career, Covington has only been finished twice, most notably falling to Kamaru Usman via TKO in a competitive title fight back in 2019. His resilience and relentless pace will be a test for Buckley, who aims to deliver another highlight-reel finish.
Fans are eager to see if Buckley’s evolving skillset and power will push him even higher in the welterweight division. With another big win on Saturday, he could solidify his position as one of the division’s most dangerous contenders.
