Joaquin Buckleyโs post-fight callout of Conor McGregor turned quite a few heads. Now, he has a secondary target in mind and that may actually lead to something. The welterweight named Gilbert Burns as the recipient of the callout and received a straightforward response.ย
Burns accepted Joaquin Buckleyโs challenge after being called out. Burns stated that he was in no position to choose his opponents. He felt the UFC would give him an opponent, and he didnโt care who that would be.
Letโs do it. The way I see it, Iโm not in the situation to call anyone out or to pick and choose. Okay Iโm number what? I think number 6 right now. I donโt know, if they(UFC) send me, Iโll say yes. If not, I never say no to a fight, Iโm not planning on start doing.
Gilbert Burns via Show Me The Money Podcast
Buckley won a spectacular unanimous decision victory over Nursulton Ruziboev at UFC St. Louis. He took the mic to make some noise. His callout aimed insults at McGregor that caused controversy. This however did not go in favor of Buckley as Dana White obviously refused the matchup.
Gilbert Burns is coming off a TKO loss against Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 299. He is currently ranked number 6 in the division. Buckley climbed the rankings and now stands at number 11. Fight fans would love to see these two stand against each other in the Octagon.
Joaquin Buckley sets eyes on Gilbert Burns after failed Conor McGregor callout
Joaquin Buckleyโs ambitious call out of Conor McGregor failed miserably. But โNew Mansaโ didnโt seem to mind aiming unrealistically high as he just wanted to ruffle some feathers. After successfully ruffling those feathers, Buckley has firmly set his sights on a more realistic target. He wanted to fight Gilbert Burns next.
Buckley offered up Burns as an alternate opponent during the post-fight press conference. Given Burnsโ recent loss, he presented a much more realistic challenge for him. Buckley believed that fighting Burns could secure his position in the top 5 welterweights.
Gilbert Burns, I think itโs a beautiful fight. A beautiful match-up. I donโt know when heโs going to be cleared or when heโs going to be ready, but Gilbert Burns, definitely.
Joaquin Buckley via UFC St. Louis post fight press conference
Buckley is a charismatic yet untested fighter against elite competition. Securing a fight with the former title challenger would represent a major opportunity. Burns may not have McGregorโs star power, but heโs still among the welterweight elite.