Joaquin Buckley will get his wish after calling out a former UFC champion.
Buckley (21-6 MMA, 11-4 UFC) takes on ex-welterweight champion Kamaru Usman (20-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) in the UFC Fight Night 257 main event June 14 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The promotion officially announced the matchup Friday evening.
Buckley sought help from the crowd on who he should face next after stopping Colby Covington by TKO in the UFC on ESPN 63 headliner this past December. Amongst the three options he mentioned, Usman got the loudest pop, and Buckley went with it. The 30-year-old is unbeaten in the octagon since dropping back down to 170 pounds, finishing four of his six opponents.
Usman will return after an almost two-year long layoff. “The Nigerian Nightmare” is on a three-fight losing skid, most recently dropping a majority decision to Khamzat Chimaev in a short-notice middleweight bout at UFC 294 in October 2023.
With the addition, the UFC Fight Night 257 lineup includes:
- Joaquin Buckley vs. Kamaru Usman
- Miranda Maverick vs. Rose Namajunas
- Alonzo Menifield vs. Oumar Sy
- Tereza Bleda vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth
- Andre Petroski vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
- Cody Durden vs. Jose Ochoa
- Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Cody Brundage
