Joaquin Buckley expresses disappointment over quality of Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Ian Machado Garry fight: "You got two guys that was kind of tentative"
At UFC Tampa this weekend, surging UFC welterweight Joaquin Buckley will face his most high-profile opponent yet. Across the cage from him will be former interim UFC welterweight champion Colby Covington.
'Chaos' wasn't Buckley's original opponent, however, as he was supposed to face Irish superstar Ian Machado Garry. A late-notice shake-up put Garry out of the bout and inserted into the co-main event of UFC 310 about a week ago.
Garry ended up facing divisional boogeyman Shavkat Rakhmonov in a closely contested contest. After five grueling rounds of fighting, 'Nomad' did just enough to edge Garry out on the scorecard. While some saw the fight as an exciting, tooth-and-nail affair, others were more critical, including Joaquin Buckley.
On the Garry-Rakhmonov fight, Buckley told The MMA Guru:
"When people spend their hard-earned money, they want to see a fight. That's what they didn't get from Shavkat and Ian Garry. Even though these dudes are undefeated, like, they built it up so much where we were expecting, 'Oh this is going to be a war, back and forth.' But it wasn't. You got two guys that was kind of tentative to do what they do."
He continued:
"And guess what? That's the crazy part. Like, with Ian Garry, I thought he was the better striker. I thought he would let his hands go just a little bit more. And then with Shavkat, being that type of finisher, right? I thought that he was going to be hunting to get the knockout. But he tried to grapple and tried to make it to the judges, you know what I mean? With that being said, it's just both of those fighters did not live up to their moment. And they didn't secure that bag, as I call it."
Listen to Joaquin Buckley here:
Joaquin Buckley's UFC Tampa opponent, Colby Covington, gave his take on Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Ian Machado Garry
Joaquin Buckley's opponent, Colby Covington, also gave his thoughts on the Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Ian Machado Garry fight. At the event's pre-fight presser, the outspoken 'Chaos' had some choice words for both fighters of the UFC 310 co-main event. When asked what he thought of Rakhmonov's win, Covington admitted to not having seen the fight, saying:
"I heard it was boring. I heard his stock went down. He got exposed. He was all hype, you know. He's got all finishes against all nobody's. He beat the bus boy from Outback Steakhouse that serves blooming onions like, how prestigious is that?" [6:50]
Watch Covington's comments here:
Joaquin Buckley will be the first man Covington will face in nearly a year, as he was last seen in action back in UFC 296 in December last year. 'Chaos' lost a five-round decision to former UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards.
As for Buckley, the 30-year-old rising star is on a five-fight winning streak, with his most recent win being a Performance of the Night-winning KO of divisional icon Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson.