Joaquin Buckley and Nursulton Ruziboev met in the co-main event bout of UFC on ESPN 56. It takes place at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. Ahead of this, Joaquin Buckley has taken to vividly trolling the welterweight opponent, who is all in good health. However, his take on Nursulton Ruziboev’s finances might have largely backfired.
The weigh-ins for UFC on ESPN 56 took place at the UFC host hotel in St. Louis. In the nearby Hyatt Regency St. Louis Arch, Joaquin Buckley was surrounded by a lively bunch of Uzbekistan fans. The welterweight star quipped that he was a good draw, and Uzbek star Nursulton Ruziboev was fighting him to make some dough. However, it was a pleasant shock when the crowd showed him some of their account balances.
Buckley vs. Ruziboev ended in a lopsided decision win for the American fighter. Buckley now has a four-fight winning streak in the division. Moreover, his lively disposition and dominance over the mic have been a factor. The welterweight fighter crashing the UFC 300 pre-fight media day to request a fight at St. Louis was an epic affair. As such, Buckley has all the makings of a star in the welterweight division.
Joaquin Buckley once said that Uzbeks have no money and Nursulton Ruziboev came to make money to fight him. But when Uzbeks showed him the money in the account he shocked. Bro don’t play with Uzbeks) pic.twitter.com/0TomaTOs7t
— Jalol Akhmedov🇺🇿 (@JalolAkhmedov) May 11, 2024
Buckley has also proven his aptitude to go the length to cut through a build-up. He has already poked fun at the supposed inactive divisional champ Leon Edwards. With top-tier performers like Stephen Thompson, Gilbert Burns, Jack Della Maddalena, Ian Garry & even new signing Michael ‘Venom’ Page in the mix, Buckley will surely thrive in rivalry build-ups. However, some he wins, some he hilariously falters at.
UFC on ESPN 56 weigh-in results: Joaquin Buckley and other main event attractions make weight
The official weigh-ins & staredowns are in the books for UFC on ESPN 56, and Joaquin Buckley is geared for war. In the main event, two-time heavyweight title challenger and KO artist Derrick Lewis takes on Rodrigo Nascimento. Concurrently, right before the heavyweight clash, Buckley meets his co-feature competitor Nursulton Ruziboev.
Joaquin Buckley, Nursulton Ruziboev (Source: Instagram/UFC.go.com)‘New Mansa’ is on a prime tear since moving down to 170 last year. Buckley, 18-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC, is naturally hefty and quite the powerhouse. But he hasn’t let go of his mettle at welterweight. He has won three straight, including a head kick KO of Andre Fialho and a UD over Alex Morono. The third was a big ground-and-pound finish over Vicente Luque.
While he’s looking forward to maintaining the same momentum, this will be Ruziboev’s first outing at 170. He has also had two finishes over at 185 coming into this. The official weigh-in results for UFC on ESPN 56 (ESPN+) include:
Main card (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)
— Joaquin Buckley (170lbs) vs. Nursulton Ruziboev (170.25lbs)
— Derrick Lewis (264lbs) vs. Rodrigo Nascimento (265lbs); main event
— Alonzo Menifield (205.5) vs. Carlos Ulberg (205)
— Diego Ferreira (155) vs. Mateusz Rebecki (155.25)
— Alex Caceres (145) vs. Sean Woodson (145)
— Waldo Cortes-Acosta (262) vs. Robelis Despaigne (262.5)
All but one for the Prelims (ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET) weighed in as well. After two bad misses, Jared Gooden never showed up at the scales. His bout is the only one that saw a cancellation for UFC on ESPN 56. With a live crowd in the background, the Fight Night event in St. Louis can potentially be one of the best non-PPV cards of the year.
