A matchup of middleweight knockout artists is on tap for an
Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Jan. 15, as Joaquin
Buckley will lock horns with Abdul
Razak Alhassan.
Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report
by MMA
Ideas. The card is headlined by a featherweight showdown
between Calvin
Kattar and Giga
Chikadze but does not yet have an official venue or
location.
Buckley rose to prominence on the strength of a 2020 “Knockout of
the Year” victory against Impa
Kasanganay at UFC Fight Night 179. The 27-year-old Missouri
native is 3-2 in the Las Vegas-based promotion, with additional KO
wins against Jordan
Wright and Antonio
Arroyo to his credit.
Alhassan, meanwhile snapped a three-bout skid with a 17-second head
kick knockout of Alessio
Di Chirico at UFC on ESPN 30 on Aug. 28. The 36-year-old Fortis
MMA product won four of his first five Octagon outings — all inside
of a round — before dropping successive fights against Mounir
Lazzez, Kalinn
Williams and Jacob
Malkoun.