Before one of the year’s most anticipated fight cards, UFC 333, takes place on Saturday, there was UFC Edmonton. Last weekend, MMA’s global leader traveled to Canada, where Mike Malott put on a show for his home country.
Malott scored a TKO victory over fellow welterweight contender Joaquin Buckley. Malott admitted he threw a head kick, but the strike landed as a clean knee to Buckley’s chin, knocking him out immediately. This loss moves Buckley to 21-9 in his career.
MORE: Watch Mike Malott perfectly time knee for brutal KO of Joaquin Buckley at UFC Edmonton
This is Buckley’s third straight loss and, by far, the most devastating of his career. The two losses before last Saturday were against high-level contenders Kamaru Usman and Sean Brady.
So now, in three fights, Buckley has been both held and dominated on the ground, unable to create any offense, and brutally knocked out. It’s as rough a three-fight skid as there is in the sport.
The question for every fighter after major adversity is what happens next. Buckley has made it clear that he has limited time left in the UFC.
Joaquin Buckley declares his next fight his last in MMA
A shocking announcement from Buckley himself. After a knockout like the one he suffered against Malott, Buckley took to social media to announce that he will retire from MMA after his next fight.
The announcement shocked most, as Buckley is still just 32 years old.
On his KICK stream, Buckley talked about the process he went through to ultimately make the decision to retire after one more fight.
“I don’t know how long I want to do this. I already had 18 fights within the UFC. I don’t know how many more I can give y’all. It’s hard to make this decision; it really is.”
“But hearing my grandmother speak, listening to her talk, and hearing her cry about me having to stop doing this sport because she couldn’t believe what she saw. Y’all don’t know how that affected me.”
“My main goal was to always be a world champion, and I feel like I am so far away from that goal that it just doesn’t make any sense to keep moving forward.”
Joaquin Buckley will be retiring from MMA after one more fight.
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) October 23, 2026
This comes after hearing his grandmother cry reacting to his KO loss to Mike Malott. pic.twitter.com/rR2oO3QizP
Nothing about this feels insincere. When Buckley reacted to the knockout, he was visibly shocked and said he’d never been slept like that before.
However, there is a long history of fighters who have retired and then come back. Buckley could take some time off and still want to come back to the sport.
Only time will tell, but for now it seems like Buckley will retire in the near future.
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