Internet sensation Joaquin Buckley to fight Jordan Wright at UFC 255
Credit both Joaquin Buckley (11-3-0) and the UFC for taking advantage of what some have called the greatest knockout in the history of professional mixed martial arts.
Just five days after Buckley notched a second-round stoppage of Impa Kasanganay that went viral on social media platforms, Brett Okamoto of ESPN reported that the 26-year-old middleweight will face Jordan Wright (11-0-0) at UFC 255 on Nov. 21.
Buckley became an overnight sensation on Saturday when, in the second round of his bout, he had his left foot grabbed by Kasanganay while attempting a blow. Buckley responded by hitting a pinpoint spin-kick to the face that knocked Kasanganay out even before he hit the ground.
UFC boss Dana White told ESPN on Wednesday that a video of the knockout provided by the promotion had generated over 60 million views.
"The boss just told me that he wants to give me all of the bonuses, so I’m welcome to it, I want all of it," Buckley said after his latest win, per Joe Coleman of TalkSport. "To be honest with you, it’s surreal; a cloud came over my head when he was talking to me, so I couldn’t hear nothing, but once that money came in, once he talked about that, then it cleared up a little bit. But it’s awesome, it’s surreal that Dana White came over and talked to me.
“It was just open. I seen that he still had my legs, I was still able to balance with him grabbing my foot, so I just spun and kicked. I aimed and I fire and it got the result we needed. I know I landed flush, I didn’t know if I knocked him out though until he locked up and I said it was game over. I train it all the time, the only thing that was different was him holding my leg, but I practice it all the time."
Buckley has won three of his last four contests. The unbeaten Wright, meanwhile, stopped Ike Villanueva in the first round on Aug. 22.
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