Joaquin Buckley on Islam Makhachev comments, Sean Brady, Sean vs. Khamzat | Daniel Cormier Check-In

0:00 What's up, guys?

0:00 Welcome to a brand new episode here at Daniel Cormier TV,

0:05 brought to you by Total Wireless, the official wireless provider of UFC.

0:08 They are in your corner with unlimited 5G data that will not slow you down.

0:13 Now, that is a total power move.

0:25 What's up, WE?

0:26 How you doing, man?

0:27 And we back to it, man.

0:29 Yeah, back to Newark.

0:32 Yeah, it's been a minute since uh since you've been in the Octagon.

0:35 Also, been a minute since we chatted.

0:36 Obviously, you and I had some conversations off the record since then, man.

0:40 Very, very productive conversations.

0:43 Uh how you feeling?

0:44 Whatever, man?

0:45 I'm feeling good, man.

0:46 Uh speaking about this conversations, bro, you know, uh linked up with you, man.

0:50 It was a great conversation, bro.

0:52 And I feel like, you know, I just needed some time off, man.

0:54 And now that I'm back, you know, and you know,

0:56 being able to work with certain guys

0:57 like uh Uzman and everything of that nature,

0:59 it's just, man, I feel like, you know, this is my time to shine.

1:03 How did that How did that come to pass?

1:04 You guys fight in the last fight, then I saw y'all

1:08 on his podcast kind of chatting.

1:10 I didn't know that you guys worked together though, while you were down there.

1:13 How long did you stay down there?

1:14 What did you guys do specifically?

1:16 Uh, it was it was a short time, man.

1:18 And, you know, it was it was it was light.

1:20 You know, I think more than anything,

1:21 it was just the little gyms that he gave me about just,

1:24 you know, just the basics, right?

1:25 You know what I mean?

1:25 Just where to move from and and and how to control the hilts, man,

1:29 and and really be able to, you know,

1:31 uh control the situation no matter what positions um that you in.

1:35 Uh but the the major thing I feel like I got from Ooze, man,

1:37 is just how to move like a champ, you know,

1:39 and that that right there, man, I'mma take with me 100%.

1:43 Buck, when you uh when you go into that fight with Camaro,

1:46 you on like a long winning streak.

1:48 this would seem to be the fight

1:50 that would propel you into a championship opportunity, right?

1:54 When that fight happens and you go back afterwards and you're reflecting,

1:59 what is the first thing that you take from it?

2:01 Because I'll tell you one thing, you know, you and I talked after that.

2:05 I expected you with all the muscle to fatigue.

2:08 You didn't fatigue.

2:09 You fought through everything that was going on in that fight and honestly,

2:12 you showed a lot of championship qualities.

2:14 But when you went back and you had to reflect,

2:17 what was the first thing and the most important thing you took from that fight?

2:21 Uh the biggest thing um the reflection to me is first off Usman won.

2:29 He did his thing.

2:30 But um I think it's a lot of things

2:32 that I had to take care of outside of the octagon.

2:35 And now that I got all those things, you know, cleared up, you know,

2:38 I'm not fighting another fight, you know what I'm saying, before I step into

2:41 Yep.

2:41 Yep.

2:42 Yep.

2:42 you know, so being able to clear up those things, man,

2:45 been able to just really kind of uh dive in and to really

2:48 kind of figure out what my place is in this organization,

2:50 this massive organization now, uh, which is the UFC.

2:54 And, uh, I I I finally kind of see my place, right?

2:56 And the only place I see, bro,

2:58 is me having that belt, you know, having that title.

3:01 And the only way that I can get towards that is by constantly competing.

3:04 Constantly competing.

3:05 And that's where that's where I'm on right now.

3:07 So my biggest reflection from that man is

3:10 to make sure that I make fighting the main thing.

3:13 You know when you uh when you were looking at your career

3:19 and going forward you said you wanted to do all those things

3:22 that you needed to do training training doing some different things in training

3:26 just making sure that you were putting yourself in the best situations.

3:29 Has anything changed in that uh sense in terms of different preparation?

3:35 Are you still training with the same team?

3:36 Like what does what does this time away look like for Wim Buckley?

3:41 I mean, I I I could really get down to the gritty, right?

3:45 Um my my my camp has always been special.

3:49 And I can never just say I never had a team, right?

3:52 But I don't have a traditional teams like,

3:54 you know, these other fighters have, you know,

3:56 in these massive gyms where they pretty

3:58 much have everything handed to to fighters, right?

4:01 uh not even just with the coaches uh

4:04 but with the teammates and partners that you have from all different

4:06 sizes and all different weight classes uh but maybe the recovery

4:10 that they might have there you know and the different

4:12 elements from you know boxing and jiu-jitsu and you know

4:15 uh wrestling and all those I don't have I didn't have

4:17 those things uh for the longest time and you know

4:21 being able to transition over and and coming back to St.

4:24 Louis right we don't have a lot of fighters that stay in St.

4:27 right?

4:28 Um to train and to you know do what I'm doing which

4:31 is yet again on a world class level and become a world champ.

4:34 Right now I'm building right.

4:36 So I tell guys I'm building brick by brick.

4:38 Uh but I realized a lot of things that even

4:40 got me to this point bro was just the hard work.

4:43 You know what I mean?

4:43 Like that that what you say that championship mentality.

4:46 And a lot of people when they do see

4:47 me right because I you know I'm massive right?

4:49 You know what I mean?

4:50 They see uh pretty much the uh the muscles that I have.

4:54 You know, a lot of people will assume, right, I get tired, but you know,

4:57 be honest with you, I think I got one of the best cardios out there.

4:59 You know, especially when it comes to the type of way that I train,

5:02 when I do 10 rounds or when I do 11,

5:04 12 rounds, doing certain things, no matter if it's wrestling,

5:07 no matter if it's boxing or just overall cardio work.

5:10 Um, so the preparation still has been the same.

5:13 Um, I think the only thing that's different,

5:15 I've been able to work with my guy Jeff Henry,

5:17 which this is the first time I can really

5:19 say I had a real MMA coach, a real MMA.

5:22 Like it's crazy to say that, right?

5:23 After being fighting for so long,

5:25 but I've been doing my own thing for a long time.

5:27 And I've really been able just to sit back

5:29 and just allow somebody else to come up with a system,

5:31 allow somebody else to really kind of, you know,

5:33 uh do a deep dive on exactly what we need

5:36 to work on every single day instead of that being,

5:38 you know, um dependent on me, you know.

5:41 So, uh the I would say the major change is me allowing my coach

5:46 to be a coach and and dial in with everything for the past 11 months.

5:50 Josh Koschek used to say something called mindless training where you show up,

5:55 you're the vessel, you let them form that vessel.

5:58 And when they form that vessel,

5:59 a lot of times because of their experiences, you're much better for it.

6:03 Now, you fight Shawn Brady this week and you were

6:06 on a sixight win streak before the last fight.

6:08 When you got the call that it was Shawn Brady, that has to feel good, right?

6:13 Because you just fought a former champion and while

6:15 it may not have gone the right way,

6:16 you still one of the top contenders.

6:18 with a victory over him,

6:20 it just puts you right back in line with what you were hoping to get before.

6:25 Possibly, right?

6:26 Uh definitely my mind is always on that title,

6:29 but I'm just looking to compete and I feel like,

6:32 you know, the person I'm competing against stylistically for me

6:35 is the best person I can go up against, you know?

6:37 So, with that being said, it's just um I'm thankful,

6:41 man, for the UFC, man, for for putting this fight,

6:43 you know what I mean, uh my way and I'm ready just to do what I do best, right?

6:48 And that's go out there and uh put on the show.

6:51 What did you make of his last few performances?

6:53 Obviously, they have not been what he would have wanted,

6:56 but the Michael Morales fight was almost shocking in the way that it did,

7:00 but did can you take anything from that because

7:02 you're a guy that possesses that type of power, too?

7:06 No, I can't.

7:07 You know, this is the crazy part.

7:08 Um, I tell guys, you know, I'm I'm I'm big on mental.

7:11 I'm big on mental, right?

7:12 Um, to me, uh, Seawn Brady didn't want that fight with Michael Morales.

7:18 Um, but but why though?

7:19 Why, Buck?

7:20 Why do you think he didn't want that fight?

7:23 Um, just because you, you know, when you see Michael Morales, man,

7:27 he he's an intimidating person, you know, very massive, you know what I mean?

7:32 Not small at all, you know?

7:33 And, um, when you undefeated and he and he knocking out everybody, right?

7:40 You know, that's intimidating, you know,

7:41 and especially when you know that you never knock nobody out on the feet,

7:45 you know, um it definitely can be a little brutal, right, mentally.

7:48 But don't get it twisted.

7:49 To me,

7:50 I think Sean Brady could have beat him if he didn't beat himself mentally,

7:53 you know, because he did have the tools to beat Michael Morales, you know.

7:56 Um but when you ain't there and you

8:00 trying to prevent yourself from getting knocked out,

8:02 usually that's how you lead to get knocked out a lot of times.

8:05 And this but but you're intimidating.

8:06 But you're intimidating too.

8:08 Can that but you're intimid but instead you just said

8:11 about the muscle and everything but you're an intimidating fighter.

8:14 Do you think though because of what happened in the last

8:16 fight Shawn Brady while you expect him to be his best

8:20 listen I think that posture and your size and your ability

8:24 in a fight takes a part in that fight.

8:27 Also, I I always tell people,

8:29 you could beat people with your presence at time by being right

8:33 in their face and pressing them and reminding them of what happened last time.

8:37 Can Shawn Brady be the same guy that he was going

8:40 into the fight prior to those fights that haven't gone his way?

8:43 I think I think he's going to be confident for multiple reasons.

8:46 You know what I mean?

8:46 But yeah.

8:47 Yeah.

8:47 I'm not intimidating at all, man.

8:48 I'm the softest dude on the roster.

8:50 Softest roster.

8:54 Crazy.

8:54 Um, your division right now is on fire.

8:56 You win this fight in impressive fashion,

8:59 you can put yourself on a short list of people

9:02 that could potentially challenge the champion Islamace for the belt.

9:06 But then you have the Michael Morales, you have the Ian Garry,

9:09 and now you have Carlos Proz who

9:11 looked amazing last week against Jack Dela Matalena.

9:15 Where do you fit into all of this?

9:18 Do you fit into a fight with a victory against one of THOSE GUYS?

9:22 BECAUSE THAT IS KIND OF SURPRISING, RIGHT?

9:25 all those names, even when you were on that six fight win streak,

9:29 you didn't necessarily seem to be mentioned aligned

9:32 with them as much as you probably should have.

9:37 And it's okay, you know,

9:38 is that that that's the work that I got to put in just a little bit harder.

9:42 Um, but do I do I feel like I'm in a mix with those three names?

9:46 Yeah, of course.

9:46 The Ian Garry's, the Carlos Proz, and the Mike Morales.

9:50 We're going to see each other.

9:51 We all going to see each other.

9:53 You know what I mean?

9:53 Uh, I would rather it be for a belt, but even if it's not,

9:56 you know, I told you, man, I'm just here to compete now, you know.

9:59 So, um, I'm blessed to have had the opportunity that I I had off,

10:03 you know, as much as I really did want to compete, I needed that time off,

10:06 but it just really showed me how much I need to be in the octagon.

10:10 I need to be here, you know, for my own personal reason.

10:13 Yeah.

10:14 Yeah.

10:14 Buck, you were talking earlier in the week about the champion Islam,

10:18 and you were mentioning some things about him and his title fight,

10:20 how expedited it was.

10:22 Now, while some people go, "Well, we keen Buckley lost his last fight.

10:26 HE SHOULDN'T BE TALKING ABOUT the champion." WE

10:28 SAW SEAN Strickland lose beat Fluffy Hernandez there.

10:33 Start talking about the champion.

10:34 Now, he finds himself in that position.

10:37 Is this are you making a concerted effort to go, hey,

10:40 I would be ready for the Islam fight

10:42 if given the opportunity and know that I'm here

10:45 to also help build a fight between me

10:48 and Islam because Ian Garry is is a tremendous fighter.

10:53 But Carlos Pontes by fighting the way he did,

10:56 people are now starting to put him into the conversation.

10:58 Yeah, 100%.

10:59 Is that what you're trying to do?

11:01 Uh, no.

11:01 I'm not trying to do nothing.

11:04 I'm not trying to do nothing because at the end of the day, you know,

11:07 um we don't control uh those things

11:09 and and and unfortunately right now, you know,

11:11 the fans, they got their own idea who they want to see, you know,

11:15 and to be honest with you, I just give it to how I see it, right?

11:18 Just so these just all my opinions, so it don't make it fact for sure.

11:21 But when I spoke about Islam and having the easiest match up that he can get,

11:25 obviously it was JDM because how you go from winning the belt, right?

11:29 Obviously, right, Islam is a has definitely proven himself.

11:33 So, it's not the fact that, you know, him winning the belt,

11:35 but it's against who he did it against, right?

11:38 I can't really put much to it because it was

11:40 the easiest match up that he can get at the time.

11:42 But now we see JDM off another ill as bad

11:45 even worse to be honest when he lost the title, right?

11:49 So, it's just like JDM, no disrespect to him,

11:51 but when he got the title shot, he was hurt.

11:54 Like he had gotten that uh his forearm broken by Gilbert Burns, right?

11:58 You know what I mean?

11:58 And he had a staff infection and all these different things.

12:01 And to be honest with you, I was like, bet.

12:02 like if this fight fall off between Sha Kat and Bal, they got to call me.

12:06 That's what I'm thinking in my head.

12:07 They got to call me.

12:07 And that's crazy.

12:09 I I remember when I was uh listening to the fight between Bal and JDM,

12:14 you kind of announced they had a conversation

12:16 in the war room and Buckley name came up,

12:19 but the fight just, you know, into fruition and uh I was just like,

12:24 "Dad, I wonder why." You know what I mean?

12:25 But the thing is though, who cares?

12:27 You know what I mean?

12:27 like it cuz it's not my time because even then,

12:30 right, oozeman, he still beat me, right?

12:33 If I was if I had a world title, if I if I got that belt,

12:36 whatever, it just showed me it was another

12:37 hole in my game where Islam could have pretended.

12:40 Now, he would never had me crying.

12:41 Now, I'll tell you that.

12:42 Hey, bro.

12:42 Hey, let me ask you this though, Bucket.

12:44 Let me ask you this, bro.

12:45 I want to say this, bro.

12:48 I love Jack.

12:49 I love Jack, but Jack don't really lose good, man.

12:52 Because last week he said, "Ah,

12:53 like in the round his coach like don't say ah." Yeah.

12:56 Like almost Islam to like a this hurts.

13:00 Like his protest like yo he don't be losing good man.

13:03 I be feeling bad.

13:04 I be feeling bad for Jack when he when he like when it's not going his way.

13:07 You be feeling bad for him.

13:09 Even even Brisbane like yo this is actually kind of hard to watch.

13:13 Yeah hard to watch.

13:13 No dog.

13:14 It was it was starting to get hard to watch man.

13:15 But with all that being said though like this division

13:19 is very um talented and we already know that, right?

13:23 And a lot of guys that get that belt don't

13:25 keep it long or in a number one contender series,

13:27 they back down to number six, number five, whatever, you know.

13:30 So, it's just telling you how lethal this division is right now.

13:33 But I feel like the three guys,

13:35 I feel like I didn't I didn't had opportunities with one of them,

13:38 which is Ian Gary and a potential fight

13:40 with which could have happened between me and Protest.

13:43 Uh, and I thought me and Michael Morales

13:45 was going to fight before him and Shawn Brady, but it never happened.

13:48 So, I feel like everything is kind of just meshing together just,

13:51 you know, how it should right now.

13:53 But, but also in in hindsight now, to Islam's credit, right,

13:58 Jack had just defended a whole bunch of takedowns from Bal.

14:01 So, it seemed like it would potentially be a tougher fight, right?

14:06 BECAUSE BAL CAN WRESTLE.

14:07 YOU KNOW, BAL can wrestle, but you but you know,

14:10 out of all people though, it's levels to everything, right?

14:14 It's levels to everything.

14:15 and Bal had tremendous you know and was a great champ you

14:19 know while while it lasted as well um I feel like uh he

14:26 is not the same pedigree when it comes to just the pure grappling

14:30 you know uh he's he was a smart fighter bel is a smart

14:34 fighter that can take the fight where it needs to go but even

14:37 Ian Gary he he spoke about the same thing like oh I

14:40 was able to stop every one of Bal's shots so that's why

14:43 you know me going to against Islam is going to be different, right?

14:46 He not going to be able to take me down.

14:48 But you can't look at it that, brother.

14:49 You know, if it if to me

14:50 So, you think that's a little bit of a mistake by by Gary, right?

14:53 Like trying to compare because it was

14:55 proven wrong by the Jack Dela Matalena fight.

14:58 Um, yeah.

14:59 Ex.

15:00 Exactly.

15:01 Right.

15:01 Exactly.

15:02 Right.

15:02 So, my thing is the the most the simplest thing

15:05 that you can do is a room full of wrestlers.

15:08 Room full of wrestlers, man.

15:09 And it's crazy how like people don't understand that like you really have

15:13 to get in there with world class guys or just even collegiate guys,

15:16 you know what I mean?

15:17 And just and just work with them full time.

15:20 And I understand that Islam has other threats besides,

15:22 you know, just the wrestling.

15:23 He has the uh what is it?

15:25 you know, almost judo scripts and then,

15:28 you know, obviously if you getting that jiu-jitsu, right?

15:31 And um uh and put on your back,

15:33 he definitely a handful because uh what he got, he got he got that vice grip.

15:36 You know what I mean?

15:37 He when he got you, he got you.

15:38 Uh, but I feel like if you stop the initial shots and if

15:41 you are able to stay and keep the fight on the feet,

15:44 which protest would need to do,

15:45 Michael Morales would need to do, Ian Gary would need to do, even myself,

15:49 I have to say that even myself, if I fought Islam,

15:51 I would have to keep it on the feet.

15:52 It's keeping it on the feet, right?

15:56 Yeah.

15:55 That's the puzzle.

15:56 That's what you got to solve.

15:57 How do I stay on my feet?

15:59 Well, you having all this conversation about

16:01 the champion on the verge of a big fight,

16:03 it really will, if you can win in the way that you hope to win on Saturday,

16:07 propel you into the conversation about

16:09 what's next for the champion because Islam, I know him personally,

16:12 is not a guy that likes to ignore when things are coming his way.

16:16 Obviously, look, we have Chamayan Strickland this weekend

16:19 based on Shawn after he won in Houston.

16:21 What do you make of that though?

16:22 Like, you see those guys this week?

16:24 I can also tell you hearing your answers on below

16:26 and Jack I can see in your mind working

16:30 that's like you're trying to form things the right

16:33 way now more than you may have in the past.

16:36 I'm just telling you that.

16:37 What do you think of this uh this Strickland Chamaya situation?

16:43 Um I think it's a beautiful uh fight for for both of them you know.

16:47 Um, obviously, man, there's a lot of buildup

16:49 and there's a lot of noise, you know, in between, but you know, me,

16:52 I'm more focused on what happens in that in that octagon.

16:55 And I'm not going to lie, you know,

16:55 Sean Strickland showed out against Anthony Hernandez, you know, and u,

17:00 he put him out, you know, uh, good good body shot,

17:03 good knee to the body, and and finished Anthony Hernandez.

17:06 Was it was it later?

17:07 I think it was like three rounds.

17:08 Yeah, it was a little later.

17:08 Yeah, a few rounds.

17:10 And so that just shows like Sean still just, you know, got a good tank, right?

17:13 Good conditioning.

17:14 Uh but with Hamzot, right, you know,

17:16 uh we already know the powerhouse that he is, you know,

17:18 and how dominant he is when he gets in the positions that he wants to get in.

17:22 Uh so if I'm Sean Strickland, right, I'm trying to get Well,

17:26 you already know Hamza, he gonna shoot in the first 10 seconds.

17:28 So trying to rush that shot out of him, you know,

17:32 if I'm Sean Strickland and really kind of put Hamza on his heels

17:35 because I really haven't seen Hamza being backed up before, you know.

17:39 So if if Shawn is looking for the ability to win this fight,

17:42 he gonna have to back up Hamza 100%.

17:46 Yeah.

17:47 Well, we Buckley, that is massive.

17:50 Your fight this weekend is massive, guys.

17:51 We Buckley takes on Shawn Brady this weekend at UFC 328.

17:56 Make sure you tune in because this dude is always involved in tremendous fights.

18:00 He's going to be sick from New New York,

18:03 New Jersey, and I cannot wait to get there.

18:04 Buckley, thank you for checking in again, my brother.

18:07 I appreciate it, man.

18:08 to see you this weekend.

18:12 Yeah.

18:10 All right, man.

18:11 We locked in.