Joaquin Buckley has been having the run of his life in the UFC with 5 wins on the trot. He’s slowly getting into title contention but has to get through former interim champion Colby Covington at UFC Miami (UFC on ESPN 63) first. The St. Louis native successfully acquired a great resume for himself since endeavoring into the MMA world, gaining popularity as the exciting ‘New Mansa’.

Joaquin Buckley has been in the UFC and has gained a considerable amount of fame for his exciting performances. Even though the fans have known his nickname for the Octagon all these years, do we really know the origin story of this unique moniker? Well, let’s find out.

Why is Joaquin Buckley called ‘New Mansa’?

While speaking at a press conference in May 2023, the Louisville native shed light on the meaning of his nickname and where it came from. He took this opportunity to explain the cultural and historical importance of the nickname. Joaquin Buckley had drawn inspiration from the ninth Mansa of the Mali Empire, named Mansa Musa, who is historically claimed to be the wealthiest person in history.

“My nickname ‘New Mansa’ comes from this man called Mansa Musa. Historically, he was known as one of the richest men who ever lived, you know. He came from the Mali Empire,” Joaquin Buckley stated during a 2023 UFC presser. Believing that he carries the same aura as Mansa Musa, Joaquin Buckley decided that the Mali Empire leader’s name would be his adopted moniker.

 “I just thought for myself, you know, I think of myself as the king, I think of myself… as a leader and somebody who is always willing to explore… new adventures. Because he is one of the people who [inaudible] with all the money that he had, searching for the new world,” Buckley added.

However, ‘New Mansa’ isn’t the only nickname the 20-6 welterweight has adopted over the years because he’s had some other interesting monikers as well. Let’s take a look at that front.

Joaquin Buckley reveals his older nicknames

Joaquin Buckley wasn’t too creative when he started out with his nicknames. The first nickname he ever had was a rather simple one – ‘Young Buck’ – which was just a short version of his surname. “I always went as ‘Young Buck’ when I was younger,” Buckley revealed to the UFC. “I was younger at the time, my last name is Buckley; so I picked a simple name.”

However, there was a small catch. Joaquin Buckley believed being called ‘Young Buck’ may not work in the long run as he got older. To adopt a new moniker, the 30-year-old started mulling over some “generic” nicknames, but he was not satisfied. He wanted something unique that could only be applicable to him. This is when Buckley decided to research history and see the world leaders from ancient times.

“I thought, ‘I’m not going to be able to grow up with this nickname; eventually I’m going to have to pick something different. I was looking around, messing with these stupid-a** names like ‘Pitbull’ and ‘Punisher’ and ‘Dominator,’ and I wasn’t really messing with them because they’re all generic,” Buckley added. “So, I decided to do my history, some homework on some great, powerful leaders, and I ran up on this guy named Mansa Musa, from the early 14th, 15th century.”

While fans like some monikers, they may not like the other names too much. But what do you have to say about Joaquin Buckley drawing inspiration from the history books to create his own nickname? Let us know in the comments down below.