Stephen Thompson is beloved by fighters and fight fans alike. UFC welterweight Joaquin Buckley is not one of those admirers.
Buckley has ruffled plenty of feathers in recent months amidst his ongoing win streak in the Octagon. He’s gotten into social media squabbles with the likes of Daniel Cormier, Shavkat Rakhmonov, and others who disagree with some of his questionable takes.
Buckley has a slew of potential opponents for his next fight as he rises the welterweight rankings. In a recent interview with Parry Punch, Buckley called out Thompson and expressed a surprising level of animosity towards the oft-polite Thompson.
“I’m not even trolling on this one, but I really feel like ‘Wonderboy’ be putting on a role,” Buckley said of Thompson. “He ain’t as nice as everybody try to claim him to be. I try to keep my personality the same with everybody. I feel like ‘Wonderboy’ gave me different kind of vibes. He definitely didn’t show me no love when I was out there at International Fight Week. Trying to confuse my words and all of these things to make me look goofy in front of his friends and sh*t. Like, okay, I got you. I let things be what it is.
“I feel like ‘Wonderboy’ is the Ellen DeGeneres of MMA. Seems like the nice guy on camera, but behind closed doors, that motherf***er’s an a**hole, for sure.” (h/t MMA Mania)
Stephen Thompson responds to Joaquin Buckley
In a recent tweet, Thompson responded.
Must’ve forgot that time he asked me for technique advice and I happily gave it to him. That was like a month ago. Keep talking though 😄
— Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson (@WonderboyMMA) July 22, 2024
“Must’ve forgot that time he asked me for technique advice and I happily gave it to him,” Thompson tweeted Monday. “That was like a month ago. Keep talking though.”
Thompson hasn’t fought since a submission loss to Rakhmonov at UFC 296. He’s lost three of his last four fights overall.
Buckley is riding a four-fight winning streak, including recent wins over Nursulton Ruziboev and Vicente Luque. Since making the full-time return to welterweight, he’s one of the highest-trending contenders in the division.
Buckley’s budding beef with Thompson is unique, making a potential clash with the former title challenger a possible fit for the UFC matchmakers.
