Joaquin Buckley will make his return to the octagon quickly as the middleweight is set to take on Jordan Wright at UFC 255.
Buckley is coming off a likely “Knockout of the Year” with a spinning back-kick to Impa Kasanganay in the second round of this past Saturday’s UFC Fight Island 5. The victory extended the UFC newcomer’s winning streak to three, as the 26-year-old has made a name for himself in Legacy Fighting Alliance and Bellator MMA, and scored impressive wins over Chris Harris (via TKO at LFA 76), Jackie Gosh (via TKO at LFA 87), and Chris Heatherly (via KO at Bellator 157). Buckley enters with a professional record of 11 wins and 2 losses.
Jordan Wright made a successful UFC debut as well as with as the former Legacy Fighting Alliance talent beat Isaac Villanueva via TKO at UFC on ESPN 15. Despite holding a no contest ruling against Anthony Hernandez, Wright remains undefeated inside of the octagon with those wins also coming from his time in Alaska Fighting Championship, Xplode Fight Series, and Gladiator Challenge. His professional record currently stands at 11 wins, 0 losses, and 1 no contest.
UFC 255 will see Deiveson Figueiredo and Valentino Shevchenko defend their respective flyweight titles at the upcoming pay-per-view. There’s no word on the placement of the Buckley/Wright fight.