Buckley announces retirement after grandmother's plea following third straight UFC loss

Joaquin Buckley has declared he will retire from MMA after one more fight, moved by his grandmother’s emotional plea following his third consecutive defeat inside the Octagon.

Buckley (21-9) was knocked out by a Mike Malott knee in the second round of the UFC Edmonton main event on October 17 — a loss that came on the heels of decision defeats to Kamaru Usman and Sean Brady. The 32-year-old said the stoppage hit his family particularly hard, with his grandmother breaking down in tears and urging him to walk away from the sport.

“That fight right there, that was devastating,” Buckley said in a social media post. “Listening to my grandmother speak and listening to her pray over the phone and really being upset. And her telling me to retire and get away from fighting. It took a lot for me to listen to it and digest it. But I took some time, I slept on it, and I prayed to God, and I realized that my grandmother is right.”

Despite accepting that his career is coming to an end, Buckley — known by his nickname “New Mansa” — is not ready to go out on a loss. He told his grandmother to pray for him while he competes one final time, framing the bout as a chance to close his career on his own terms.

“I told my grandmother just to pray for me and allow me to grace the Octagon one more time,” he added. “I gotta save myself from any more mileage or any more damage. This is the last one, but we gonna make our last one the best one.”

No opponent or date has been announced for Buckley’s farewell fight. The welterweight had been one of the more exciting finishers in the division, but the three-fight skid — including back-to-back losses to two former title challengers in Usman and Brady — appears to have brought his run at the top level to a close.