Joaquin Buckley is treating his welterweight showdown with Sean Brady at UFC 328 as a fight for his roster spot.
Buckley meets Brady in a pivotal welterweight clash Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., an matchup UFC commentator Jon Anik has described as having major stakes for both men.
Buckley made it clear his focus is on performance and job security, not long-term title talk. "My thing is just go out there and perform – that's my thing," Buckley said. "I don't think about two years being set back. Anybody that loses this fight is getting cut. That's how I look at it. My job is on the line. That's how I see it. That's different. That's my mentality. People like to make the most out of all this stuff because at the end of the day your performance speaks for itself. As long as you're performing you're good. You're going to be straight."
Buckley expects Brady to lean heavily on his grappling and pursue a submission or ground strikes, but he welcomes the challenge. "I'm very excited and up for the challenge and up for the test and break that puzzle," he said.
Coming into UFC 328, Buckley previously had a seven-fight winning streak snapped by Kamaru Usman in June, while Brady saw a title run halted by Michael Morales in November. For Buckley, the mission now is simple: "My biggest goal is just to keep fighting. Once I get done with Sean Brady, I want another one. I'm going to have that name ready for everybody once I need to do what I need to go against Sean Brady."
