Joaquin Buckley is gonna hang up his gloves after one more fight.
Last weekend, Buckley suffered his third straight loss in the UFC, getting brutally knocked out by Mike Malott in the main event of UFC Edmonton. Though Buckley handed the loss with grace three consecutive losses leaves him well outside of the welterweight title picture, and without a clear path forward. But now he has one.
Post to his social media on Thursday, Buckley announced that after conferring with his grandmother and other loved ones, he intends to retire from MMA after one more fight.
“What up, y’all. I’m gonna just be quick with it: that fight right there, it was devastating, and it really affected my family, the people that’s closest to me,” Buckley said in the video.
“Listening to my grandmother speak, and listening to her pray for me over the phone, and really being upset, and her telling me to retire and really kind of get away from fighting, and really kind of get away from the sport because your mind is your biggest tool and your biggest asset, and you don’t want to lose it. It took a lot for me to listen and digest it, but I took some time, I slept on it, and I prayed about it, and I realized that my grandmother is right.
“But, with that being said, I told her to just pray for me, and allow me to grace the octagon one more time, and to have the strength to step out there one more time, because I can’t leave on a loss. Plus, with my babies and everything of that nature, that’s the reason why I fight so hard. I give 110 percent for them every single time. So it’s going to be hard to literally not be able to give my fullest potential. And with me already having 18 fights within the organization within six years, I’m already knowing that I’m a workhorse. So, really, I’ve got to really save myself from any more mileage and any more damage.
“Y’all see my brother right here. He’s been training with me throughout this journey, and he’s been helping me get back in shape, and stay in shape, and do the things that’s necessary. But we’re gonna do it right this time. We’re not cutting no corners, we’re not taking no shortcuts, and we’re going to do the difficult things.
“But like I said, this the last one. But we’re gonna make our last one the best one.”
The body of Buckley’s post went added a little more beyond what he said in the video.
Love You Granny Thank you for your honesty and prayers 🙏🏿
All the people who’ve stayed close to me through all of this
I’m taking one more fight. This will be my last one ☝️I’ve given a lot to this game. More than I should have in some ways. There comes a point where you have to stop before you give up too much of yourself. This is that point. I’m doing this for my longevity and for my babies my Lightskin twin and my Lil Crust ❤️
So I can still be here, present, and whole for the people who actually matter.
I’m going to give everything I have left in this camp. And I’m trusting God to get me through whatever comes with it.
Buckley joined the UFC in 2020, immediately turning heads with his Knockout of the Year over Impa Kasanganay. Originally competing at middleweight in the UFC, Buckley dropped back down to welterweight in 2023, where he strung together six wins and was on the cusp of a title fight before losing to Kamaru Usman at UFC Atlanta last year, the start of his current losing streak. Sporting an 11-7 record in the UFC, Buckley also earned five Performance of the Night awards, and one Fight of the Night award.
TOP STORIES
Classy. Arman Tsarukyan attacks Dillon Danis igniting near riot at RAF 14 press conference
Logical. ‘We need to do a better job’: Robbie Lawler reacts to Arman Tsarukyan, Dillon Danis press conference brawl.
Machine. Petr Yan promises to break Merab Dvalishvili’s nose again at UFC 333: ‘This machine is going to be taken apart.’
Title. Arman Tsarukyan confirms lightweight title shot is next, told it will be ‘beginning of next year.’
Generally. Dana White clarifies statement on Farid Basharat situation: ‘I wasn’t pointing him out, specifically.’
Chase. Khamzat Chimaev vows to chase Sean Strickland to any weight class for rematch: ‘This guy is not going to run from me.’
Chill. Aaron Pico explains why he had no problem facing unranked opponent on crucial UFC 333 card.
VIDEO STEW
RAF riot.
Full RAF press conference.
Robbie Lawler reacts.
UFC 333 Preview Show.
UFC 333 press conference.
UFC 333 Embedded, episode 4.
FLAVOR IN YOUR EAR
No Bets Barred.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Among my best work ever.
Some of my finest work ever. @lthomasnews and @ChuckMindenhall on @morningkombat coming to the harrowing realization that Alexander Volkov might just be the Baddest Man on the Planet pic.twitter.com/wDfOl5bJGx
— Jed Meshew II (@JedKMeshew) October 22, 2026
Terrific fits from the guys.
Questions will be answered@alexvolkanovski vs @MovsarUFC
— UFC (@ufc) October 22, 2026
[ #UFC333 | OCT 24 | 2pmET LIVE on @paramountplus ]@VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/JoTNBYkS1m
This feels like a very meme-able photo.
Who is your daddy? pic.twitter.com/0fx06H35mn
— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) October 22, 2026
He does know how to bring it out of people.
Clowns always getting his head stomped on
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) October 22, 2026
Sean O’Malley.
PETE VS MORAB WHO YOU GOT AT UFC 333? pic.twitter.com/K66jcAYgQF
— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) October 21, 2026
Look, Jones may be the GOAT, but he lost. If you think Matt Hamill wasn’t a loss, then you’re saying that the official record doesn’t matter, in which case, he lost to Dominick Reyes. Or if he didn’t lose to Reyes because of scoreboard, then he lost to Matt Hamill. You can’t have it both ways.
A lot of people can argue that he lost but in the history books he won and that’s all that matters. Only argument against him being goat is steroid angle. Other than that there’s not a close second. Absolutely amazing career https://t.co/gN5IZnbZLK
— Matt Brown (@IamTheImmortal) October 22, 2026
FEED ME MORE
The best part of the press conference.
FINAL THOUGHTS
UFC 333 is awesome. I am extremely pumped about the main and co-main event, and the rest of the card is also fun. Let’s enjoy it.
If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKlee or @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and like us on Facebook.