Joaquin Buckley won the Knockout of the Year prize in MMA for the spinning back heel kick finish he scored last year.- The move was so good it prompted Donald Trump to call the
UFC boss Dana White and ask him if he'd ever seen anything like it before. - It inspired rap mogul Kanye West to incorporate the footage into a music video, helping it transcend beyond combat
sports and into popular culture. - The knockout artist Buckley returns to the UFC Octagon for a middleweight match Saturday and has vowed to score another Knockout of the Year winner.
Buckley fights Saturday at the UFC's first show of 2021. He competes against Alessio Di Chirico in a middleweight match in front of a partial fan allowance at the Etihad Arena on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.
Buckley goes into the 185-pound fight having rebounded after a knockout loss to Kevin Holland with back-to-back finishes against Impa Kasanganay and Jordan Wright.
Footage of Buckley's extraordinary spinning back heel kick that instantly concussed Kasanganay went viral.
It inspired West to integrate the clip into a hip hop track, and the US President Donald Trump called the UFC boss Dana White to ask White if he'd ever seen anything like it before.
Despite impressing people in prominent places, life for Buckley did not change much.
From St Louis, Missouri, Buckley still works a temporary job at a Walgreens pharmacy. He told Insider this week that he'll pull on the grey work vest when duty calls and that the only thing that would make him quit would be a fighting salary of $200,000.
Speaking to reporters at a Fight Island media day, the 26-year-old did say his success has also attracted online trolls.
"I let the social media haters get to me a little bit. It added pressure to deliver [but my trainer] told me … I'm a dog and to go get my bone. You're always going to have haters … that just comes with success."
Re-live Buckley's knockout win over Kasanganay here:
—ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 10, 2020
Buckley's kick swept the Knockout of the Year awards at prominent MMA outlets like MMA Junkie and MMA Fighting.
"Winning that award is a big deal, history-making. People will look back at that and how amazing that moment was. I enjoy that moment but do not bask in it," said Buckley.
"I didn't think it was that special when I landed it. It just landed in the moment.
"I didn't know I knocked him out until I turned around and see him go stiff, and his reaction when he went down … body mechanics caved in. No ref needed after that."
Buckley said he had a "s----" phone at the time and had to get a better one because it could not keep up with the relentless social media notifications.
Apparently, the rap mogul Kanye West was to blame.
Watch West's theme track here:
—ye (@kanyewest) October 14, 2020
"Kanye definitely [made] a big impact in getting that kick out there. Without that, I may not have gotten the [end of year] trophy.
"My jaw dropped when I see that," Buckley said, adding that he had been a fan of the musician since he was a school kid. "He was cool enough to say I'm inspired by this and make the song."
Because the fight occurred during the coronavirus-era in sports, the bout took place behind-closed-doors with no fans in attendance.
This may have contributed to the knockout's impact, as you can hear the sound the connection has - something that may have been drowned out had there been the roar of a crowd.
"Everything happens for a reason … if you had fans, you wouldn't have the crazy impact of the kick which people were silenced by when they heard that," Buckley said.
Buckley vows to score another Knockout of the Year contender Saturday
The Etihad Arena has a capacity of approximately 18,000 and will have up to 2,000 fans in attendance for Buckley's first fight of 2021.
"That's enough to hear people roar, scream, and get a little shock value when I knockout Alessio," he said, vowing to produce a Knockout of the Year contender Saturday.
"His chin is compromised and I'm looking to show that in this fight that we're about to have. Alessio is going to be on the mark for the 2021 knockout of the year.
"I'm thinking about that fast rise, fighting the right fights in the right time, and, in 2022, I'm definitely having that gold belt around [my waist]," said Buckley.
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