‘Send Him To Merab’: Islam Makhachev Claim Falls Apart as Joaquin Buckley Suffers One-Sided Loss to Usman

Off the back of his one-sided decision loss overnight, Joaquin Buckley has been urged to brush up heavily on his wrestling game.

Buckley, who headlined his second consecutive Fight Night billed card, saw his impressive six-fight winning spree halted in rather comprehensive fashion.

Taking on the returning ex-champion, Kamaru Usman in Georgia, Buckley was taken down through rounds one to four, and controlled majorly by the former pound-for-pound number one.

Finding himself on the wrong side of a unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) loss to Usman, Buckley really failed to mount much offensive beyond lunges into striking range, and a late fifth-round counter flurry on the feet.

Coming under fire from color commentators Paul Felder and Dominick Cruz for his apparent lack of defensive wrestling ability, Buckley has been urged to make significant changes to how he approaches the welterweight elite.

As far as fans on Reddit are concerned, Buckley needs to take up suggestions from Islam Makhachev. And particularly, move to Dagestan and train for two to three years, strictly wrestling.

“It’s so weird to see Buck (Joaquin Buckley) with absolutely no clue how to get up,” A user on Reddit commented. “His offensive wrestling isn’t bad. Apparently his back is a big weakness though. Now we know.”

A second user even brought up Buckley’s pre-fight confidence in his defense. Especially if he faced off with Makhachev. “Still remember when he said Islam wouldn’t take him down,” a user wrote.

Finally, a third user posted their disappointment in the St. Louis native, even claiming it was a “depressing” bout to watch. “This is depressing to watch. He got no answer for the takedown.”

Now, back to the drawing board after his winning streak is broken, Buckley must fight down the ladder. But for the returning Usman, he has a distinct reminder to offer to his divisional peers.

Usman brands himself welterweight ‘boogeyman’

Landing his first win since 2021, Usman was on the sidelines for just shy of two years before his comeback against Buckley. And expected to have begun his retirement tour in Atlanta, an emotional Usman hit out at his welterweight peers.

Offering them all a stark reminder of his ability and prior dominance at 170lbs. The Auchi native claimed he was and will remain the pacesetter at welterweight, despite dropping his crown three years ago.

“Oh, his knees, his knees. Well, shut the f*ck up. I could still do what I do,” Kamaru Usman told Paul Felder during his post-fight interview. “The rest of the welterweight division, listen. I have been and always will be the f*cking boogeyman.”