Joaquin Buckley really has a problem with Cub Swanson.
Over the weekend, Buckley caught flak from some MMA fans when he claimed he would knock out a prime version of welterweight great George St-Pierre. Among those who came for Buckley was St-Pierre’s former teammate at JacksonWink MMA, UFC featherweight Cub Swanson, who told Buckley that “better men have tried and couldn’t do it.” Buckley took issue with Swanson, returning fire on social media, then kicked things up a notch by posting a scathing video takedown of Swanson to his Discord and Instagram.
“Yeah, I’d knock GSP out if we were in this stage of my career right now. I don’t think Georges would be messing with me,” Buckley said. “At the end of the day, I see a lot you guys comment, ‘Oh man, George would do this to you, George would do that to you!’ That’s cool. You can have your opinion.
“But Cub, you’re a little different though. You’re a fighter. At the end of the day, you were in the motherf*cking weight class with B.J. Penn, and if you felt like you could win that fight, I wouldn’t be mad at you, because you’re a fighter! That’s what you’re supposed to think! That’s what you’re supposed to say. So for you to come out and say, ‘Oh, better men have tried,’ you really trying to be on some slick shit. N****, just say it. You don’t think I’m as good as I say I am, as I claim to be.
“You can have that opinion too, Cub, but at the end of the day, what the f*ck have you done with your career, bro? You’ve been in the business for 15 years, n****, and never touched the title, boy. Ain’t never smelled the title, n****. Ain’t even tasted that motherf*cker, n****. And you’ve got the motherf*cking nerve to talk about me and what the f*ck I’m doing? Motherf***er, I went viral, I’m in the rankings. I don’t even think you’ve ever been in the rankings. Your biggest win ever in your life was beating f*cking Charles Oliveira, and I bet your ass still talk about that shit. ‘Oh, I beat Charles Oliveira about 10 years ago. I’m really doing shit out here. I could be champ again.’ Shut your bitch ass up.
“You ain’t doing nothing with your career, but you see somebody else that’s shining and that’s doing their thing and you’ve got something to say. Talking about, ‘Respect the legends.’ I only respect motherf*ckers that have done shit in the sport. And you ain’t done nothing but talk your motherf*cking bullshit and come on my motherf*cking account acting like you’re about to do something.”
While Swanson has never fought for a title in a major promotion, “Killer Cub” is a widely respected veteran of both the UFC and WEC, and was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2022 for his 2016 bout with Doo Ho Choi. Swanson was also a staple of the UFC featherweight rankings for more than five years after they were introduced in 2013, peaking at No. 2.
Buckley’s issues do not appear to be entirely with Swanson, though. Buckley has received a lot of criticism in 2024 for some of his promotional choices, including jumping in during the UFC 300 press conference to ask UFC CEO Dana White for a headlining spot at UFC St. Louis (the card already had a main event), and calling out Conor McGregor following his win at earlier this month at that very fight card. And it seems Buckley is a bit frustrated with the backlash, as he ended his diatribe with a message for all of his haters.
“Damn, man. I’m tired of all y’all,” Buckley said. “Y’all don’t really see that I’m really out here doing my thing, out here putting myself forward and trying to be the best in the world. But it’s OK though, because at the end of the day, y’all are not fixing to stop what’s fixing to happen: Me. I’m going to be able to put myself in position to fight for a championship one day. And a lot of people are not going to be able to take that away from me. Whether win, lose, it don’t matter. I know damn well I will fight for that belt and I will become a world champion one day.”
Buckley is on a four-fight win streak since returning to the 170-pound division, and currently holds the No. 13 spot on MMA Fighting’s global welterweight rankings.
