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Middleweights
NR | Joaquin Buckley (13-4, 3-2 UFC) vs. NR | Abdul Razak Alhassan (11-4, 5-4 UFC)ODDS: Buckley (-145), Alhassan (+125)
Buckley was an interesting prospect even before landing one of the flashiest knockouts in UFC history. An obvious athlete, “New Mansa” did not have the deepest approach but showed an impressive ability to consistently throw power without tiring like many competitors in the same vein. Then came his October 2020 knockout of Impa Kasanganay—a jumping spinning back kick that will live on in highlight reels for years. It turned the spotlight firmly on Buckley, with the UFC choosing to feature him and have him fight as often as possible. That worked well at first—Buckley knocked out Jordan Wright just weeks after the Kasanganay win—but in his January 2021 bout against Alessio Di Chirico, it was Buckley who was on the receiving end of a shocking knockout, as the Italian quickly turned out his lights with a head kick. Things have been mostly quiet for Buckley in the year-plus since. His only other fight in the meantime was a September win over Antonio Arroyo that saw Buckley earn a late finish but look more cautious in getting there than usual. It is a necessary evolution, but hopefully Buckley does not lose too much of his hype or action credentials before he comes out the other side of those adjustments. At the very least, this fight against Alhassan seems sure to be a banger. Alhassan’s approach is built entirely around throwing huge offense as quickly as possible, which led to some electrifying success before seemingly hitting the point of diminishing returns these last few years. In particular, a 30-second knockout loss to Kalinn Williams and subsequent wrestling-heavy defeat against Jacob Malkoun painted the picture that Alhassan may no longer have much in the tank before he gets broken. However, with his 17-second knockout of Di Chirico in August, Alhassan’s hype has been restored leading into this appearance. It should be a coinflip for a few minutes, as Alhassan is both ridiculously dangerous and wild enough to get knocked out, but he has nothing to offer past that opening salvo and should allow Buckley to close the show shortly thereafter, provided that he manages to survive. The pick is Buckley via second-round knockout.
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