UFC Fight Night: Buckley aims to 'really hurt' Malott on Saturday night

Joaquin Buckley says don’t hate him for being honest.

Nothing personal, but the aggressive, hard-punching American southpaw is going out there Saturday night to try and really hurt Mike Malott. Mess him up. Maybe make an example out of the 11th-ranked Canadian on UFC Fight Night at Rogers Place.

“With my style and who I am, I’m always going out there with the intentions to kill,” said the eight-ranked welterweight in the UFC. “That’s not like a disrespectful thing, that’s not because I hate Malott. Brother, that’s the job.

“Fighting is the hurt business. If you’re not going out there to really try and hurt your opponent and put him out, don’t be a fighter. That’s the entertaining part.

“We’re all gladiators, we’re all warriors. If you keep that mentality, you train a certain way. You put your body through a certain type of conditioning when you believe your life is truly on the line. That’s just who I am and that’s just what I do.”

Saturday’s main event features two fighters separated by just three spots in the rankings. But, the way Buckley sees it, this is a fight between a marquee name and somebody trying to escape the shadows. So even though this is an American versus a Canadian on Canadian soil, he views himself as the premier attraction.

That’s up for debate given that Buckley is in a two-fight UFC slump after losses to former champion Kamaru Usman and eighth-ranked Sean Brady, while Malott has won four in a row. But Buckley says the recognition gap is very real.

“It’s hard to be the A-side when you’re unknown,” he reasoned. “A lot of people in Canada really showed me a lot of love. It shows that I’m known all over. I’m internationally known. I hold a different type of weight when it comes to being a main event.

“But Mike Malott? It’s a true story, don’t nobody knows you. That’s the reason he wants to fight me, so people do get to know who you are. And I’m not mad. Come get it.”

The 34-year-old from Burlington laughs at any suggestion that Buckley is anything other than the next guy on the list as he climbs his way up the UFC ladder. But he agrees with Buckley that this is just business, adding he took the fight because the company threw out a name and he said ‘sure.’
“Got the name. This is the guy. This is the date. Makes sense to me, let’s do it.

“There are only so many guys I was going to be able to fight next. Somebody in the top six to 10 is what made the most sense and he’s right in the middle of that so it made perfect sense.”

As for Buckley being the premier attraction, Malott says wait until Saturday night and see what the people have to say.

“I’ve main evented in Canada before without him and I can’t see him main eventing in Canada without me. For me, I feel like this is my show.”

It’s going to be somebody’s show by the end of the night. While Buckley is 0-2 in his last two, he was coming off a six-fight UFC win streak that included wins over Colby Covington and Stephen (Wonderboy) Thompson. He’s an ultra-aggressive striker who can put opponents with all four of his limbs. He comes at you hard and he likes to swarm.

“I don’t want to be too patient, I want to start the fight off early, but to be honest with you, that’s Mike Malott’s decision,” he said. “I just know that every time I strike I plan on finishing. So it’s up to Mike Malott’s chin how long it’s going to last.”

Malott, 7-1 in the UFC, has good striking skills of his own, but is also extremely well-versed in Jiu-Jitsu, grappling and submissions, so this might be one of those clashes that goes to whoever can impose his style on the other.

“In my heart, I know I have to prevent the fight from going to the ground, period,” said Buckley.

Malott says he’ll figure things out on the fly, relying on his versatility.

“I try not to go out there and script fights too much. It’s fighting in a cage, you have to call audibles constantly. So I prefer to put the preparation into being sharp everywhere and then I can make calls while we’re going.”

Either way, somebody is going to come out of this in a very good place Sunday morning. These are two fighters on the cusp of a breakthrough and one of them is going to break through.

“To be perfectly honest, this fight and my last two, those are some pretty solid names,” said Malott. “You have Kevin Holland, Gilbert Burns and now Buckley. A win in this fight plants me firmly in the top 10. That will be three wins in a row against ranked opponents.

“It puts me in a really good spot to be fighting the top guys in the division and even potentially one big win away from a title shot — we’re starting to get there. I’m not getting ahead of myself, I’m not counting my chickens before they hatch. I’m focused completely on Saturday night but I’m not oblivious to the fact that this is a great opportunity.”

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