Las Vegas, NV — Middleweight Abdul Razak Alhassan was as fired up as ever following UFC Vegas 67, and it wasn’t just about his knockout win over Claudio Ribeiro, either.
Of course, that had Alhassan (12-5) pumped, but there was more to it than that.
“It’s always amazing when you knock somebody out. That feeling can never go away,” Alhassan explained to media outlets including Cageside Press. “And that’s the same feeling that, any time I go into a fight, I fight like a maniac. Like a hungry lion who just saw a gazelle running, and he just started chasing, not even looking at his left and right. And my coaches were like ‘no, you cannot be that dumbass lion. You’ve got to be the smart one.”
The game plan, with that in mind, was to be patient. And Alhassan was patient enough to finish the fight in the second round, reminding the middleweight division of his power. “That was definitely the point. I wanted to show, I realize a lot of people come into the fight and they feel like I don’t have any ground game. I’ve been doing judo for like 26 years, ground game is where I started. But I just fell in love with punching people’s head off, and I just forget the rest.”
Alhassan credits his coaches with coaxing him into showing restraint. But there was no restraint when it came to Joaquin Buckley, a former opponent who beat Alhassan via a split decision last year.
“I want to fight that bitch-ass Buckley again. If anybody see him, tell him I say he’s a f*cking bitch. He’s a p*ssy. Can I say that? He’s a f*cking p*ssy, like a big-ass p*ssy,” exclaimed Hassan, in round one of what was a multi-round verbal berating of Buckley.
In his own colorful words that will likely never, ever make it to ESPN, Alhassan explained the nature of his ire.
“Okay so I know it’s the fight game, but when you talk so much sh*t and you stand in front of another guy and be like ‘I’m going to knock you the f*ck out,’ and we have an agreement, let’s go in the center of the ring, let’s f*cking bang and see who the f*ck is going to go down first, and bitch-ass throws one punch, he’s like ‘uhh let me take you down.’ You’re a bitch, Buckley. If you’re watching this, you’re a bitch. I want to whup your ass, I swear, you’re a f*cking bitch. Sorry man. He’s still a bitch.”
Buckley had made a similar agreement with Chris Curtis later in the year, and when that was pointed out, Alhassan went into round two. “His bitch-ass felt my power, he’s like ‘I don’t want this f*cking guy doing that, I’m going to take him down.’ You’re a bitch, Buckley. I hope you see this. If I see you in the street and you talk sh*t, I swear to god, I will show you the African way, I will smack the f*ck out of you, I swear. I’ll treat you like a— you’re a bitch. Sorry.”
Abdul Razak Alhassan (@JudoRazak) goes OFF on Joaquin Buckley (@Newmansa94)….repeatedly. #UFCVegas67
🔽🔽🔽
Full Interview: https://t.co/kuvSq9vxTZ pic.twitter.com/CdLB9bsrNb— Cageside Press (@Cagesidepress) January 15, 2023
Round three came a few minutes later, when Alhassan was asked whether he wants the Buckley rematch next. “Yes. That bitch-ass. Yes I want a rematch with that f*cking bitch so I can f*ck him up,” Alhassan replied. “It’s good. Buckley, you’re a bitch. If you’re a man, come and fight me again. You’re a bitch again.”
“Usually when I’m on the mic, I’m one of the most respectful persons, because my mom always raised me like that. But when there’s no camera, I’m a f*cking asshole,” Alhassan then admitted. “My friends always tell me that, ‘you’re a f*cking asshole, why is that when you come on the camera, you’re always playing nice?’ I’m like ‘hey my mom raised me right. When I’m in front of elders and some people, I’ve got to play nice. But Buckley, you’re a bitch. I hope you see this! I want to fight you again!”
Asked by Cageside Press if he felt disrespected by being paired up with a UFC newcomer after years in the company, Alhassan got out his answer — then tore into Buckley once more for good measure, actually blaming his former opponent for his current match-up. Round four?
“I did. To be honest I did [feel disrespected with the match-up]. Because I felt like hey, I’ve been in the UFC a while now. If you guys are going to give me somebody, at least give me somebody up there,” Alhassan explained. “I’m not saying I’m old, but I’m getting older. I want to make a lot of f*cking noise before I step out. But for them to give me somebody like that — and this is going to sound petty as hell, but I realized they put me in the f*cking blue corner. Are you f*cking kidding me? Let me be the second one to walk out.”
Then, the Buckley angle. “I feel like that’s bitch-ass Buckley too. I think it’s his fault. I’m not going to lie, he’s a bitch. Because our last fight was so boring as sh*t, right? So UFC was like ‘that fight was boring, let’s put him on the prelims.’ Buckley, you’re a f*cking bitch! I swear to god, I hope I see you face-to-face. Forget the camera, I will smack the f*cking sh*t out of you. I will show you the African way, I swear to God.”
Just to poke the bear a little, Alhassan was then asked what would happen if someone on the street said the name ‘Buckley.’ “He’s probably going to get a smack too.”
Buckl— never mind.
Watch the full UFC Vegas 67 post-fight media appearance by Abdul Razak Alhassan above.
