The UFC‘s final event of the year will go down on December 14th in Tampa, Florida. Today, the promotion announced the fight that will headline that card. The undefeated Ian Garry (15-0) will take on “New Mansa” Joaquin Buckley (20-6) who is unbeaten since dropping to the welterweight division.
Starting with Buckley, he has had an incredible run since dropping down to 170 pounds. After a decent run at middleweight, Buckley made his welterweight debut last May against Andre Fialho. He scored a second round knockout and he was off to the races.
Buckley won his next fight and that led him to a bout against top contender Vicente Luque. That’s where Buckley really opened some eyes as he stopped Luque in the second round. Following that, he got a fight in front of his hometown at UFC St. Louis and he defeated the dangerous contender Nursulton Ruziboev.
Most recently, Buckley took on former title challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson at UFC 307. After a back-and-forth fight, Buckley scored a third round knockout. Now, he’ll be tasked with trying to become the first man to defeat Ian Garry.
UFC Tampa
Ian Garry made his UFC debut back in 2021 and he had a lot of hype behind him. The Irishman was a perfect 7-0 and he was the Cage Warriors welterweight champion. Garry won his first four fights inside the octagon and last year, his competition level really started to step up.
First, he knocked out Daniel Rodriguez with a head kick. Then he dominated Neil Magny last August. In February, he remained undefeated with a decision win over the very dangerous Geoff Neal. At UFC 303, he used his wrestling to defeat Michael “Venom” Page by decision.
While Garry has been climbing the ranks, his last few fights have left a little to be desired. Buckley is the perfect opponent to bring the best out of Garry. This should be a tremendous fight.