Joaquin Buckley has once again begun to make headway in the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division, but the jury remains out on his staying power.
The four-time “Performance of the Night” award winner will try his luck against ranked opposition when he confronts Nassourdine Imavov as part of UFC Fight Night 209 preliminary festivities on Saturday at Accor Arena in Paris. Buckley, 28, enters the cage with the wind of a three-fight winning streak at his back. He last appeared at UFC on ESPN 37, where the Bellator MMA veteran prompted a second-round doctor stoppage against former Absolute Championship Berkut titleholder Albert Duraev on June 18.