Joaquin Buckley set on making UFC change St. Louis headliner – to himself vs. somebody

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Joaquin Buckley wants to fight in St. Louis.

And if he fights in St. Louis, Buckley (18-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) needs to be a main event.

Following his UFC on ESPN 54 victory over Vicente Luque at Boardwalk Hall, Buckley immediately called an unsurprising shot.

“That’s the plan,” Buckley told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “We’ve got to talk to the UFC and see what they’re talking about, but yeah, I’m hoping I can fight in May (in St. Louis).”

The promotion announced Saturday its official main event will be Houston’s Derrick Lewis vs. Brazil’s Rodrigo Nascimento. Though the May 11 event at Enterprise Center in St. Louis already has some local flavor with Michael Johnson, Charles Johnson, and Sean Woodson on the card, but Buckley wants to add to the mix – but only one condition.

“They will switch it up,” Buckley said. “If I fight in St. Louis, they’re going to have to switch it up and put me as the main event. Five rounds.”

For his co-main event booking vs. Luque (22-10-1 MMA, 15-6 UFC), Buckley campaigned for a big matchup when he name dropped Luque, Kevin Holland and Ian Machado Garry, among others. For this fight, however, Buckley is biting his tongue.

“I ain’t trying to give no shout outs, but when I say I want to fight anybody and everybody, that’s what I want to do – everybody that’s above me that’s in the ranks,” Buckley said. “Now I get to be a little bougie. At first, when I was making these callouts, everyone was like, ‘You’re not ranked.’ Now I’m about to make the same excuse (to others).”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 54.