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

Joaquin Buckley has announced he will retire from MMA after one more fight, citing the emotional toll his recent losses have taken on his family and a candid conversation with his grandmother that he says he could not ignore.

The welterweight suffered his third straight UFC defeat last weekend, getting knocked out by Mike Malott in the main event of UFC Edmonton. Three consecutive losses have left Buckley well outside the welterweight title picture, and on Thursday he posted a video to social media explaining his decision to walk away after one final outing.

“That fight right there, it was devastating, and it really affected my family, the people that’s closest to me,” Buckley said. “Listening to my grandmother speak, and listening to her pray for me over the phone, and really being upset, and her telling me to retire — it took a lot for me to listen and digest it, but I took some time, I slept on it, and I prayed about it, and I realized that my grandmother is right.”

Buckley said he asked his grandmother to allow him one more appearance in the octagon before he steps away for good. “I can’t leave on a loss,” he explained, adding that his children — whom he referenced by their nicknames, “my Lightskin twin and my Lil Crust” — are central to his thinking. “That’s the reason why I fight so hard. I give 110 percent for them every single time.”

He also pointed to the physical cost of a career that has included 18 fights inside the UFC across six years. “I’m already knowing that I’m a workhorse,” Buckley said. “So, really, I’ve got to really save myself from any more mileage and any more damage.”

In the written portion of his post, Buckley expanded on the decision: “I’ve given a lot to this game. More than I should have in some ways. There comes a point where you have to stop before you give up too much of yourself. This is that point. I’m doing this for my longevity and for my babies.”

No opponent or date for his farewell fight has been announced. Buckley closed his message with a promise: “We’re gonna make our last one the best one.”