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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – OCTOBER 11: Joaquin Buckley celebrates his KO victory over Impa Kasanganay in their middleweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island on October 11, 2020 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – OCTOBER 11: Joaquin Buckley celebrates his KO victory over Impa Kasanganay in their middleweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island on October 11, 2020 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
UFC middleweights Joaquin Buckley and Alessio Di Chirico will face off on the main card for UFC Fight Island 7. The bout comes in as one of the most talked-about fights on the card and it’s easy to see why. The ever electrifying Buckley looks to make his mark and replicate his ‘2020 KO of the Year’ success.
Additionally, the bout is the very first in the line of a tripleheader weekend put together by the UFC. The weekend will culminate with Conor McGregor’s highly anticipated return to fighting after a year’s lay-off. Not to mention, the UFC has been off the air for a while now and fans are going to jump on this card.
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UFC middleweights: Joaquin Buckley vs Alessio Di Chirico
The 12-3 surging contender in Buckley has certainly bounced back from his TK loss to Kevin Holland from earlier in the year. His Spinning back kicks KO over Impa Kasanganay is very much at the top of the mind of the fans. Moreover, he’s proven that he’s a sustained success as he followed it up with another KO win.
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 21: Joaquin Buckley stands in his corner prior to his middleweight bout against Jordan Wright during the UFC 255 event at UFC APEX on November 21, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Confidence is the biggest net positive in MMA, and ‘New Mansa’ is certainly not short on it. He’s extremely durable for the division and isn’t afraid to receive some shots to enter into the pocket. Furthermore, he’s precise with his strikes and that could potentially be a huge problem for Di Chirico early on.
Alessio Di Chirico comes in with a 12-5 record, and he’s been on a rather sizeable skid as of late. The 31-year-old Italian fighter has lost his last three fights in a row via decision and could very well be fighting for his job. Moreover, his last decisive win came all the way back in Dec 2017 when he KO’ed Oluwale Bamgbose.
Facing an explosive striker like Buckley is certainly not ideal, considering his last few performances. His losses have come to similarly poised fighters like Kevin Holland and Makmud Muradov, who pose similar problems for the Italian. However, he tends to get backed up against the cage against pressure-heavy fighters, and this could be costly.
Prediction: Joaquin Buckley to secure a second-round TKO win
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