‘It’s a reintroduction’: Joaquin Buckley shines light on long layoff ahead of UFC 328 bout with Sean Brady
After being a Fighter of the Year contender in 2024 with a 4-0 run, Joaquin Buckley has solely competed as soon as since then, and now plans to reintroduce himself to the UFC fan base.
Buckley returns after practically a year-long layoff to face Sean Brady on the principle card of Saturday’s UFC 328 occasion in Newark, NJ In his most up-to-date bout, Buckley misplaced a unanimous determination to former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in the principle occasion of UFC Atlanta this previous June.
“New Mansa” mentioned the prolonged layoff and whether or not it was annoying or truly a blessing in disguise for his progress and improvement as a fighter and a human being.
“That part right there: Everything a blessing in disguise, brother,” Buckley informed MMA Fighting. “Everything’s a blessing in disguise. I like how you put that.
“It’s been busy. I’ve been maintaining myself busy in the case of simply the small issues, man. I had some losses in my profession. Even although I took an L, man, I went to RAF and did that as nicely, man, going up in opposition to Pat Downey, simply having the ability to do some random stuff, man. But issues that I feel actually, type of, utilized nice expertise, that I may take with me into the octagon. So there’s been a lot of nice issues that occurred on this previous 10, 11 months now.”
Buckley’s unbelievable 2024 run was capped off with back-to-back finishes of two-time title challenger Stephen Thompson and former interim champ Colby Covington. The loss to Usman was a setback, actually, but it surely led to Buckley taking a step again and reflecting on issues.
Now he faces Brady, who’s in a related state of affairs. After a formidable run — together with a lopsided stoppage win in opposition to former champ Leon Edwards at UFC London in March 2025 — Brady bumped into rising contender Michael Morales and was completed within the first spherical.
The matchmaking made sense throughout, and Buckley sees it as the right struggle to return to in opposition to a fighter he has a lot of respect for.
“To be honest with you, man, this is going to be one of those good type of fights that I’ll get everything just flowing,” Buckley mentioned. “But Sean Brady, I know that he’s not going to be no scrub. I know that he’s not going to be no punk. He’s going to go out there and make it a fight, and he’s going to try to look for his takedowns and look for his clinch opportunities, and that’s what we’re looking for. We want to get close. …
“[It was] no rush, no picking of the fighters or my own willingness to fight someone different. I think Sean Brady and myself is a match made in heaven. That’s all I’m going to say: It’s a match made in heaven, you know what I’m saying? After this fight, he definitely got to unblock me [on social media]man. He blocked me. He still got me blocked. But I respect him because at the end of the day. “I can’t do what I want to do without an opponent, and obviously, I have signed that contract, so I have nothing but respect for that man once we step in there.”
Buckley understands the stakes in the matchup: The loser takes a bigger step back in a loaded up 170-pound division, while a win puts him right back in the mix. Buckley knows his time is now to make a run, and plans on making a big statement on Saturday night.
“I feel like the headline is going to be a reintroduction of Joaquin Buckley for the UFC and Paramount,” Buckley mentioned. “I’m being reintroduced to a new fan base since being out for 11 months, and I truly believe that this is the time that I really get to prove to the world who I am and what I’m capable of doing, and truthfully, why I will be the next world champion in the welterweight division.
“So it’s a reintroduction to Joaquin Buckley in the UFC.”
