One of the viral stars of 2020 is back as he seeks to rebound from the second knockout loss of his UFC career.
Joaquin Buckley, known for his wild spinning back kick knockout of Impa Kasanganay, will return to action Sept. 18 when he battles Brazil’s Antonio Arroyo in a middleweight bout at a location and venue to be announced.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Buckley (12-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) most recently competed at UFC on ABC 1 in January when Alessio Di Chirico finished him with a head kick. The defeat snapped a two-fight winning streak for “New Mansa.”
Arroyo (9-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) also looks to turn his luck around as he looks to pick up his first promotional win. After he earned a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2019, Arroyo lost his first two UFC bouts to Andre Muniz and Deron Winn.
With the addition, the Sept. 18 lineup includes:
- Anthony Smith vs. Ryan Spann
- Tafon Nchukwi vs. Mike Rodriguez
- Devin Clark vs. Ion Cutelaba
- Jim Miller vs. Nikolas Motta
- Dakota Bush vs. Zhu Rong
- Danaa Batgerel vs. Montel Jackson
- Sarah Alpar vs. Erin Blanchfield
- Carlston Harris vs. Impa Kasanganay
- Pannie Kianzad vs. Raquel Pennington
- Heili Alateng vs. Gustavo Lopez
- Antonio Arroyo vs. Joaquin Buckley
