Joaquin Buckley will make just his second appearance at 170lbs this coming Saturday as he takes on Alex Morono at UFC Vegas 80.
His maiden voyage at welterweight was against Andre Fialho back in May, where he picked up an impressive second round knockout of the Portuguese slugger. The move down in weight came after “Newmansa” suffered back-to-back losses in the middleweight division.
Despite having to cut the extra weight, Buckley (16-6) remained in good spirits at the UFC Vegas 80 media day, taking off his shirt to flex his new chiselled physique. The 29-year-old admitted that he has had to make ‘lifestyle changes,’ but they’re changes that he is relishing.
“It’s been good, it’s been a whole lifestyle change. Me being able to eat cleaner and better for myself, we ripped up right now. I feel like all the work I’ve been putting in and the preparation I’ve done, it shows. Not just in the fight but with my physique when I step on the scale, everyone sees the hard-work I’ve been putting in.
“I’m enjoying it so it’s not even a sacrifice. Being able to change what I was eating and everything I was doing, it’s put me in a better position where I can sleep better and think more clearly, I’m just able to go out there and fight at a higher level and at a better performance for myself instead of thinking I have to end the fight early in case I gas out.”
This will be Buckley’s second camp with head coach, Joaquin Murcielago, after previously spending time with the current middleweight champion, Sean Strickland, at Xtreme Couture. A champ who Buckley called “the champ that we needed right now,” noting that his win shows that the game is “all mental. It’s all mentality.”
“That actually gives me a lot of motivation myself that I can do the same thing at 170 right now,” Buckley later added.
Check out the full UFC Vegas 80 media day appearance from Joaquin Buckley above.
