"Absolutely no quit in Buckley"- Fans and fighters appauld Joaquin Buckley's grit and heart in the fight against Nassourdine Imavov
Joaquin Buckley and Nassourdine Imavov delivered an exciting back-and-forth contest at the UFC Paris event on September 3.
The two middleweights engaged in a three-round bout on the main card of the event. Both fighters gave it their all and the fight went the 15-minute distance. In the end, it was Imavov who got his hand raised via unanimous decision. The three judges scored the fight 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 in favor of the 'Russian Sniper'.
Although Joaquin Buckley lost the contest, the grit and heart shown by him left many MMA fighters and fans impressed.
UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall praised 'New Mansa' and said he had no quit in him.
"Absolutely no quit in Buckley," wrote Tom Aspinall.
Absolutely no quit in Buckley
UFC welterweight Belal Muhammad also had good things to say about the 28-year-old.
Shoutout to Buckley he left it all in there
Derek Brunson suggested that moving down to welterweight might be a good move for 'New Mansa'.
Buckley would be best at WW I think ! #UFCParis
Journalist Damon Martin said that Buckley deserved credit for performing aggresively in the third round of the fight.
Nassourdine Imavov will win that fight but Joaquin Buckley deserves so much credit for that third round.
He did exactly what you're supposed to do in that situation. Just couldn't quite get the finish.
#UFCParis
One Twitter user hailed Buckley as the rightful victor of the fight.
Joaquin Buckley is my winner fuck everyone else. Dudes a DOG #UFCParis
Another individual said that 'New Mansa' may have lost the fight but he definitely won over the fans.
May have lost the fight but will never lose the fans. Gives absolutely everything inside the cage with such heart and great personality. Great corner work in the final round too. Love watching Joaquin Buckley perform! #UFCParis https://t.co/ITDyRzIV7I
A few more tweets on the fight between Imavov and Buckley can be seen below:
Clear win for Imavoy, but tip of the hat to Buckley for going after it in the third. #UFCParis
All credit to Joaquin Buckley. Dude knew he was losing the fight and swung big for the entire third round #UFCParis
Buckley has improved big time in all fairness. His movement around the cage and decisions are fantastic in comparison to how he used to fight. Cardio is still improving too I see.
Buckley was willing to go out on his shield if he had to for that win, Imavov just a lil too sharp for him… Good fight for sure, looking forward to the next one from both guys 🔥
That was a fun fight. Buckley showed a lot of heart in that third round. https://t.co/rhZzCm6kaU
Joaquin Buckley's stint in the UFC
Till date, Joaquin Buckley has had an exciting run in the UFC. Win or lose, 'New Mansa' always puts on an entertaining performance for MMA fans around the world.
The 28-year-old is 15-5 as a professional fighter and eight of those fights have taken place in the UFC.
Buckley started in UFC career against Kevin Holland in August 2020. 'New Mansa' failed to secure a win on his debut as he was knocked out by 'Big Mouth' in the third round of the fight.
But in his very next fight, Buckley scored an incredible spinning back kick knockout against Impa Kasanganay, a finish that made waves around the world.
The 28-year-old followed it up with another knockout win against Jordan Wright at UFC 255.
Buckley then hit a roadblock in January 2021 as he suffered a knockout loss against Alessio Di Chirico.
But then, 'New Mansa' turned things around and went on a three-fight winning streak with wins over Antonio Arroyo, Abdul Razak Alhassan and Alebert Duraev.
Imavov broke Buckley's winning streak on September 3 but there is a good possibility that the 28-year-old will come back stronger from this loss.