Joaquin Buckley wanted on the UFC St. Louis card, and while he was campaigning for the main event spot, co-headliner will have to suffice.
UFC President and CEO Dana White announced on Wednesday that Buckley, the hometown hero, would face Nursulton Ruziboev in the Fight Night card’s co-main event.
The event takes place on May 11, 2024 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO.
Buckley (18-6) is riding a three-fight win streak since returning to welterweight in May 2023. Those three wins have seen him finish both Andre Fialho and Vicente Luque, while going the distance against Alex Morono.
Formerly a middleweight, Buckley also earned the 2020 Knockout of the Year from this and numerous other publications for an awe-inspiring two-touch spinning back kick KO of current PFL champ Impa Kasanganay. What he has not done is compete at home for the UFC, which led to him crashing the UFC 300 press conference to ask White for a spot on the card.
Ruziboev (34-8-2, 2NC) has won ten straight fights, including his first two under the UFC banner. While he’s not yet ranked in the welterweight division, Buckley stands at #11.
The full UFC St. Louis card breaks down as follows:
- Derrick Lewis vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
- Joaquin Buckley vs. Nursulton Ruziboev
- Alonzo Menifield vs. Carlos Ulberg
- Terrance McKinney vs. Esteban Ribovics
- Chase Hooper vs. Viacheslav Borshchev
- Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Robelis Despaigne
- Tabatha Ricci vs. Tecia Pennington
- Billy Goff vs. Trey Waters
- Charles Johnson vs. Jake Hadley
- Jared Gooden vs. Kevin Jousset
- Alex Caceres vs. Sean Woodson
- JJ Aldrich vs. Veronica Hardy
- Carlos Diego Ferreira vs. Mateusz Rębecki
