Joaquin Buckley believes he is fighting to save his UFC career on Saturday night.
‘New Mansa’ will meet Sean Brady in a clash between top 10 welterweights at UFC 328 on Saturday night.
With both men coming off defeats, Joaquin Buckley fears the loser of their fight will be cut from the UFC roster.
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Joaquin Buckley’s mindset ahead of UFC 328
Joaquin Buckley won six fights in a row before being outpointed by Kamaru Usman at UFC Atlanta last June.
Sean Brady tapped out Leon Edwards and won eight of his nine UFC fights prior to his first-round knockout loss to Michael Morales at UFC 322 in November.
Buckley and Brady don’t appear to be at risk of being cut from the roster if they lose at UFC 328.
Still, Buckley believes they should both be fighting like their UFC careers depend on it this weekend.
“My thing is just go out there and perform – that’s my thing,” he told MMA Junkie.
“Anybody that loses this fight is getting cut. That’s how I look at it. My job is on the line.
“That’s how I see it. That’s different. That’s my mentality. People like to make the most out of all this stuff because at the end of the day, your performance speaks for itself.
“As long as you’re performing, you’re good. You’re going to be straight.”
Joaquin Buckley wants to be active
Joaquin Buckley wants to be as active as possible in 2026 after spending 11 months sidelined.
After overcoming Sean Brady, the 32-year-old is planning to call out another top contender at UFC 328.
“I’m very excited and up for the challenge and up for the test and break that puzzle,” Buckley added.
“My biggest goal is just to keep fighting. Once I get done with Sean Brady, I want another one.
“I’m going to have that name ready for everybody once I need to do what I need to go against Sean Brady.”