Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. It’s knock out or get knocked out with this upcoming
Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight
tilt in September. The news first came from
MMA Junkie on Thursday, reporting that Joaquin
Buckley (12-4) would be taking on Antonio
Arroyo (9-4) at middleweight at the promotion’s
Sept. 18 UFC Fight Night event. The news has since been
confirmed by
other outlets.
Owner of one of the most spectacular knockouts in UFC history, a
spinning back kick to demolish Impa
Kasanganay in October 2020, Buckley followed it up with a
crushing finish of the then-undefeated Jordan
Wright a month later. In his last performance, Alessio
Di Chirico starched him with a head kick to end his spectacular
winning streak. As a pro, the Finney’s Hit Squad product out of
Missouri possesses a career knockout rate of 75 percent – although
75 percent of his losses have also come due to strikes.
Coming into this fight on a two-fight skid is Brazil’s Arroyo, who
joined the promotion off of a pair of wins on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018 and 2019.
His debut against Andre Muniz
did not go his way, nor did his sophomore effort against Deron Winn,
as Arroyo lost both by unanimous verdict. Arroyo has never been
knocked out by a pro, while he sports a finish rate of 89 percent
in his own right.
The unnumbered UFC Fight Night event on Sept. 18 takes place inside
the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, with a light heavyweight headliner
pitting Anthony
Smith against Ryan Spann.
Other key matchups on the card include a light heavyweight clash
between Tafon
Nchukwi and Mike
Rodriguez, while Ion
Cutelaba takes on Devin Clark
also at light heavyweight. Additionally, a bantamweight battle
between Heili
Alateng and Gustavo
Lopez serves as a newly announced matchup on the card.
