The basketball court inside State Farm Arena was gone, and in its place were hundreds of cubic feet of concrete. The home of Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, the NBA’s Most Improved Player award winner, and the Atlanta Hawks was being prepped for a summer of concerts and events that will bring thousands inside.
Of the many events that will take place inside State Farm Arena over the next 90 days, UFC Fight Night will be one of the most anticipated. On Saturday, June 14, UFC Fight Night will feature a welterweight bout between Joaquin Buckley and Kamaru Usman, the number seven and four ranked fighters in their weight class, according to data provided by UFC.
On Wednesday, May 7, Buckley took his first visit to the arena to get a look around. He was also making his first visit to Atlanta, but wasn’t planning on doing much sightseeing. This trip and the one he is going to make a couple of weeks from now for training camp will be all about business, he says.
“Any time I’m landing anywhere, I’m trying to go straight to that work,” Buckley said. “Straight to business.”
Buckley and his team took their first look at the gym where training will take place, Lions Cage MMA, and he told The Atlanta Voice that he liked what he saw.
When asked if he liked what little bit of Atlanta he had had the opportunity to see on his way from the airport to the gym and then downtown to State Farm Arena, Buckley said he did.
“The people here have shown us a lot of love,” he said. “We went to the gym and saw it, and they had everything laid out for us. There was good energy in the gym.”
The fight in Atlanta next month will be big for Buckley, who is working on becoming a household name in the mixed martial arts game. The St. Louis native has amassed an overall record of 21-6-0 and has won his last six fights.
Buckley said he was a big fan of Atlanta’s fight champ, Evander Holyfield, and wants to put on a show for Atlanta fight fans on June 14.
“Evander is somebody that I looked up to for sure. He’s one of the hardest-working guys in the business,” Buckley said. “With us being mixed martial artists, it’s really about the fight, and as long as you bring the fight, people will always love it.”
With his last fight, a third-round TKO of Colby Covington in Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, on Dec. 14, 2024, Buckley is looking forward to facing an opponent, even one as experienced as Usman.
“I’m itching, bro, I was hoping I was going to get in there a little earlier, but only in God’s timing,” Buckley said. “June 14, I am expecting to go out there and put on a show.”
Buckley said he has been working on “some new stuff” between fights and “has something cooking.”
During the interview, Buckley complimented Usman as a fighter, even using “great” to describe his upcoming opponent. However, he was also clear about what he was coming to Atlanta for.
“I’m taking the same approach that I have for everybody else, I have to come get him,” Buckley said. I respect everything that he has done, I respect everything that he has been able to accomplish, but he ain’t never fought nobody like me. Never.”
Told that Atlanta hasn’t hosted a UFC fight card since April 2019, Buckley’s eyes lit up. He wants to make an impression on this city’s fight fans and UFC fans.
“This is a fight city, this is an event city, and they got a guy like me in the main event,” Buckley said. “I can’t speak on Kamara Usman, but I know that every time I step into that octagon, I’m looking to show up and show out. I‘m looking to give a memorable show.”
The eight-fight card also includes a women’s flyweight bout between American fighters Rose Namajuanas and Miranda Maverick.
“You don’t want to watch this on TV, you’ve got to watch it live,” Buckley said.