Joaquin Buckley, a streaking welterweight contender and native of St. Louis, will face Nursulton Ruziboev on May 11th in the welterweight co-main event of UFC St. Louis. Buckley has repeatedly asked to compete in the main event of his hometown card, but his wish has been granted in part. Buckley has won three consecutive UFC bouts since moving back down to welterweight, including impressive knockouts of Vicente Luque and Andre Fialho. He is currently ranked 13th in the world by MMA Fighting.
Ruziboev, who has won both of his UFC fights by first-round knockout, has accepted the challenge and will now face Buckley in a quick turnaround. Ruziboev is transitioning down from the middleweight division and will be looking to make a statement against Buckley. Both fighters will have a six-week turnaround, as they both fought on the same March 30th card.
UFC St. Louis will take place at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri and will be headlined by a heavyweight matchup pitting Derrick Lewis against Rodrigo Nascimento.
