Shavkat Rakhmonov is Not Bothered By Joaquin Buckley’s Callouts

The formidable welterweight contender, with an unblemished 18-0 record and a 100-percent finish rate, responded after Buckley named him as a potential opponent in late May.

This came after Buckley had initially called out Conor McGregor following his win at UFC St. Louis, then shifted his focus to Gilbert Burns as his next ideal fight.

Buckley continued to aim higher in the rankings until he eventually targeted Rakhmonov, but the 29-year-old powerhouse didn’t take his callout seriously.

“I thought your Conor callout was delusional, but you’ve actually outdone yourself this time,” Rakhmonov said in response to Buckley’s message on Twitter.

Rakhmonov is widely considered to be just one win away from a title shot after his dominant victory over Stephen Thompson in his most recent fight. While Buckley is undefeated as a welterweight in the UFC, he is still several ranks behind Rakhmonov.

After seeing Rakhmonov’s message, Buckley responded by claiming it was Rakhmonov’s head coach, Henri Hooft, who was actually tweeting.

“Henri Hooft think he slick,” Buckley wrote. “You can’t talk for Shavkat nor can you fight for him either.”

Since his victory over Nursulton Ruziboev in May, Buckley has antagonized several fighters, including UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier, who was upset by Buckley referencing his late mother in a separate post on Twitter.

Buckley also targeted veteran featherweight contender Cub Swanson in another social media post.

There’s still no confirmation on who Buckley will fight next, but his callouts have certainly garnered attention. It remains to be seen whether this strategy will ultimately benefit him.