UFC rising star Joaquin Buckley has been training with ex-welterweight champion Tyron Woodley
Viral knock-out sensation Joaquin 'New Mansa' Buckley posted a picture on his social media detailing his new training routine with former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.
"To Become The Champ You Must Learn From The Champ," Buckley wrote.
Competing in the UFC middleweight division, Buckley's impressive wins have created many expectations over his next challenges. Starting with wrestling in his youth, Buckley was compared to Woodley by his coach Bobby Conn when he was still in high school.
"Bobby was coaching us, and he told me that I reminded him of Tyron Woodley," Buckley recalled. "To be honest, I had to look up info about Tyron, but when I did, I guess it inspired me."
This is not the first time that Buckley's training routine makes the headlines. Earlier this year, UFC welterweight division, James Krause, talked about a supposed beef he has with Buckley.
"He messaged me and asked if he could come train," Krause said. "I pretty much just told him no. I know people just 'met him' from his viral video. He's from St. Louis. He's not too far from me. He's been kicked out of every gym in St. Louis. I've never heard a good word said about him."
Joaquin' New Mansa' Buckley may be the next big name for UFC
Joaquin Buckley (12-3) won the 'Performance of the Night' award for his last two fights at UFC. The first, against Impa Kasanganay, was later elevated to 'the best KO hit' by many and even prompted US President Donald Trump to talk about it with Dana White.
"I talked to the president, and he says to me, 'Oh my God, this Buckley knockout … have you ever seen anything like this?,'" Dana told Yahoo Sports. "And I said, 'Mr. President, nobody has ever seen anything like this. It's the most viral thing on the internet.'"
Joaquin Buckley says that he has always aimed for the spectacular. Even when just practicing wrestling at high school, Buckley was constantly trying as many takedowns as he could.
"I wasn't the best wrestler, but I always tried to put on a show," he recalls. "I watched a lot of martial arts movies and did a lot of pretend martial arts. I was young and naïve then. I was doing some things I shouldn't have been doing. But I stuck with the MMA fighting, and pretty soon, I started to develop my own style."