Joaquin Buckleys Grandmother Prayed Over the Phone After His Knockout, and Now Hes

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After his UFC Edmonton knockout loss to Mike Malott, welterweight Joaquin Buckley sat down and posted a video to Instagram, revealing that his grandmother had called him after the fight with a message that forced him to come to terms with possibly ending his MMA career.

It was the third straight defeat for Buckley, following decision losses to Kamaru Usman and Sean Brady, and it hit his family hard.

Buckley posted the Instagram video just five days after the devastating knockout.

Buckley’s Difficult Family Conversation

“That fight right there, it was devastating, and it really affected my family. The people closest to me,” he said in the video.

“Listening to my grandmother speak and listening to her pray for me over the phone, and really being upset, and her telling me to retire and really kind of get away from fighting and get away from the sport because your mind is your biggest tool and your biggest asset, and you don’t want to lose it.”

Leading up to his fight, Buckley was more focused than ever, refusing to shake hands and abstaining from answering interview questions.

Despite the seriousness he had heading into the fight, Malott folded him with a brutal second-round knee that sent Buckley’s mouthpiece flying across the UFC Octagon and left him unconscious on the canvas. 

Buckley admitted the conversation with his grandmother was difficult to absorb. 

“It took a lot for me to listen and digest it, but I took some time, I slept on it, and I prayed about it, and I realized that my grandmother is right,” he said. 

One More Walk to the Octagon

Buckley did not simply accept retirement without a condition. He told his grandmother he could not leave the sport on a loss. 

“I just told her to pray for me, and allow me to grace that Octagon just one more time, and have the strength to step out there one more time, because I can’t leave on a loss,” Buckley said.

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After his fight in Edmonton, however, Buckley insisted he would keep moving forward. 

“I’m not going to stop, I’m going to keep moving forward,” he said at the time. “I’m going to show you guys the team that I’m with, the team that I’m building and the thing I want to do. Because at the end of the day, man, I’m a fighter that fights.”

His grandmother’s honesty, however, has given him added perspective about the real risks of fighting.

Buckley also framed the decision around his children. 

“With my babies and everything of that nature – that’s the reason I fight so hard,” he said in the video. 

He noted that he has already competed 18 times in the UFC over six years and wants to save himself from further damage.

A Career Defined by Highlights and a Final Mission

Buckley leaves a complicated legacy in the UFC. He joined the UFC in 2020 and produced one of the most replayed knockouts in company history, a spinning back kick that flattened Impa Kasanganay. 

After moving to welterweight, he rattled off six straight wins, including stoppage victories over Stephen Thompson and Colby Covington.

The recent skid, however, exposed his many vulnerabilities and his lack of fundamental MMA skills. 

Usman and Brady both controlled him with grappling, and Malott needed less than two rounds to produce a Knockout of the Year contender. 

Buckley has not named an opponent or a date for his farewell fight, but his intentions are clear. 

“We’re going to do it right this time. We’re not cutting any corners, no shortcuts, and we’re going to do the difficult things,” he said. “This is the last one. But we’re gonna make the last one the best one.”

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This story was originally published by Athlon on Oct 23, 2026, where it first appeared in the MMA section. Add Athlon as a Preferred Source by clicking here.