It’s been 10 years since St. Louis native Joaquin Buckley made his professional debut as an MMA fighter. Over the years, he’s amassed a pretty impressive record for himself. But what kind of style does Buckley use during his fight? Well, that’s the topic of conversation today.

A UFC Fight Night is on the horizon as welterweight star Joaquin Buckley is set to make his return. UFC on ESPN 56, which will take place in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, and will feature ‘New Mansa’ competing against Nursulton Ruziboev in the co-main event. But before that, let’s see what kind of fighting style viewers will be witnessing that night from Buckley.

What type of fighter is Joaquin Buckley?

According to his profile page on the UFC’s website, Joaquin Buckley has been listed as a freestyle fighter. Now. what does ‘freestyle’ mean? It means that the 30-year-old does not have a specific style. He’s neither a complete striker, a complete wrestler, nor a complete grappler. However, Buckley has showcased amazing striking abilities in most of his MMA fights (including his UFC bouts) and the same helped him rack up 18 wins, with 13 of them coming via knockouts. The knockout stats are impressive, to say the least, because Joaquin Buckley started his combat sports journey as a wrestler.

Despite knowing how to get things done in a wrestling match, that aspect of his fighting hasn’t had much of an impact on his career. With a mixture of striking and wrestling, ‘New Mansa’ could give Nursulton Ruziboev a run for his money. But how did the St. Louis native get into MMA? Let’s find that out.

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Buckley’s MMA journey started with an online search for a gym

After finishing up his journey in high school, Joaquin Buckley started to sink his mind into mixed martial arts. To do that, he took the services of the internet and looked to find a gym. “Finney’s gym popped up in the search. I called them up, and the guy told me to come down,” Buckley once revealed during an interview with MMA Junkie.

The owner of that gym is Jesse Finney, who himself was an MMA fighter, particularly in Strikeforce and Rumble Time Promotions in St. Louis. He had a total of six professional fights and lost only one. Hence, Joaquin Buckley got the perfect place to start his MMA journey, which was a gym not too far from his residence.

Interestingly, ‘New Mansa’ spent a lot of time on the mat wrestling with fellow UFC fighter, Michael Johnson, back in high school. After seeing his wrestling mate make it to Dana White’s promotion, it must have been the catalyst for him to forge his own MMA career.

Joaquin Buckley has been on top of his game since 2023. He’s built a steady winning streak and has no plans to drop the ball when he fights in his hometown this weekend. But Ruziboev may turn out to be a much tougher opponent since he’s making the move to welterweight after destroying his last two opponents in middleweight.

Who do you think will win at UFC on ESPN 56? Drop your pick in the comments below.