Buckley’s Rakhmonov Callout and the Road to Usman
Joaquin Buckley’s public call for a fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov captured the welterweight title race in late 2024. The matchup never came together: Rakhmonov instead met Ian Machado Garry in December and won a unanimous decision. Buckley took a different route, stopping Colby Covington in Tampa before later losing a five-round decision to Kamaru Usman.
Rakhmonov answered Garry in the cage
Buckley’s challenge came while Rakhmonov was widely viewed as one of the division’s most dangerous contenders. Rather than meet Buckley, the undefeated Kazakh fought Garry on December 7, 2024. Rakhmonov used pressure and takedowns to edge a competitive five-round contest, with all three judges scoring it 48–47. The official scorecards show the unanimous result and preserve the bout as a defining step toward a title opportunity.
Buckley made his own statement in Tampa
One week later, Buckley headlined in Tampa against former interim champion Covington. Buckley’s speed and body work helped him control much of the action, while Covington’s grappling offered only brief interruptions. The ringside physician stopped the bout at 4:42 of round three because of a cut, giving Buckley a technical knockout win. The official event report records the finish and the rest of the main card.
A later test against Usman
Buckley’s run continued into 2025, earning him a main event against former champion Kamaru Usman in Atlanta. Usman won by unanimous decision on June 14, with the judges scoring the fight 49–46, 49–46 and 48–47. The scorecards mark a setback in Buckley’s ascent, while also showing how far the callout’s central question had moved: both men were now competing for position among the division’s elite.
The original proposed pairing with Rakhmonov remains an intriguing what-if. Their paths instead produced separate tests against Garry, Covington and Usman, each with direct consequences for the championship picture.
