Joaquin Buckley says his next fight will be his last

Joaquin Buckley told fans this week that his next fight in the UFC will be his last.

The 32-year-old welterweight posted an Instagram video Thursday announcing his retirement plans, five days after being knocked out by Mike Malott in the second round at UFC Fight Night 291 in Edmonton on October 17, according to UFC's own event recap. Malott finished Buckley (21-9) with a knee and follow-up punches at 2:32 of round two, extending a stretch of defeats that Yahoo Sports reported prompted Buckley to rethink his career.

The Malott knockout was Buckley's third consecutive loss, following unanimous-decision defeats to Sean Brady in May and Kamaru Usman in June 2025, according to Sherdog's fight log. Before that stretch, Buckley had won six straight fights, including finishes of Stephen Thompson and Colby Covington in late 2024, and had built a reputation as one of the welterweight division's most dangerous strikers.

In his announcement, Buckley said the Malott fight weighed heavily on his family and that his grandmother asked him to step away from competition after the loss. He said he did not want his career to end on a defeat, telling fans, "This is the last one, but we're going to make our last one the best one," according to Yahoo Sports.

Buckley has not named an opponent or set a date for his farewell bout, and the UFC has not announced his next fight. Whenever it happens, the bout will close out a run in the Octagon built on some of the sport's most frequently replayed knockouts.