“I really feel like I put people on notice when it comes to the 170 division. I don’t care what nobody say, nobody says my name. Everybody wants to talk about these other guys being the boogeyman, but no one mentions my name. As you see me start to climb the ranks and fighting these interim champions like Colby, a former champion in Kamaru Usman, and the performance I feel like I’m going to do on him, before you know it, it doesn’t even matter about people calling me out or not, they’re going to have to fight me because I’m going to have that belt around my waist.”
Following the win, Buckley used his Octagon interview with Michael Bisping to call out his next opponent. But instead of cutting a traditional promo, he let the fans decide. He listed three names — Leon Edwards, Kamaru Usman and Belal Muhammad — and asked the crowd to make noise for the matchup they wanted most. The winner? The “Nigerian Nightmare” Kamaru Usman.
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The former welterweight king and current No. 5 ranked contender hasn’t competed since October 2023, and his last fight at 170 pounds came seven months before that. Despite the long layoff, Buckley anticipates facing the same Usman fans have come to expect over the last decade.
“I think I’m going to be fighting the best version of Kamaru Usman,” Buckley said. “What he said out his mouth was that he wasn’t going to sign the contract unless he felt ready. With that being said, with him signing this contract against me, I guess he feels ready, like he’s going to get up in there and do something, so I’m prepared for the best Kamaru Usman we’ve seen.
