The UFC is no stranger to heated rivalries, but few have spilled over into personal territory quite like the clash between Joaquin Buckley and Daniel Cormier. Buckley, known for his unfiltered style both in and out of the Octagon, found himself at odds with the UFC legend following a controversial call-out aimed at Conor McGregor. What began as a bid for attention spiraled into a series of verbal exchanges that roped in other MMA veterans and sparked debates across social media.

For months, the back-and-forth continued, fueled by Buckley’s fiery remarks and Cormier’s critique of his approach. It wasn’t until a face-to-face interview that the two managed to hash out their differences. The resulting conversation shed light on the misunderstanding that had ignited their feud and provided closure to an otherwise contentious episode. But before diving into their reconciliation, let’s rewind and unpack the story that sparked this surprising beef!

How did the beef between Joaquin Buckley & Daniel Cormier start?

After his win over Nursulton Ruziboev, the 30-year-old decided to make a fierce call out for Conor McGregor. Although this method of convincing UFC’s top brass has worked out for many stars in the past, including Nate Diaz, the same cannot be said for Buckley. Many in the MMA world felt that his call-out was undeserving and would not lead anywhere. Interestingly, one of those people happened to be Daniel Cormier. Even though Buckley’s initial blows were against Mystic Mac, he immediately backtracked and moved his attention toward Gilbert Burns, but the damage was already done.

People started to call this episode of yet another ‘McGregor beef’ the ‘worst call-out of all time’ on social media. Some regarded it so distasteful that it almost took the limelight away from Buckley’s stunning performance inside the octagon. The call-out became a hot topic because of the nature of the language employed for the same.

Buckley dubbed McGregor a “McH*e” and went on a nasty tirade by even taking shots at his family. People even suspected the fighter of involving McGregor’s mother in the beef. He said, “Your great-great grand-pappy was a h*e.” This statement was not taken lightly by the fans or even Daniel Cormier. Eventually, ‘DC’ expressed his criticism, and the duo has been going back at it ever since.

Controversial exchanges between Buckley and Cormier continue

‘DC’ found himself in the crosshairs of Buckley’s aggression after the welterweight contender had told ‘MMA fighting’ that he was praying to the MMA gods that he gets to run into the former dual champ. This is because their online back-and-forth had already started in May 2024. Cormier was one of the many veterans who called out the fighter’s trash talk against the Irishman. He stated that it was a waste of valuable microphone time. Even though the duo confronted each other to resolve the issue before UFC 307, the conversation surrounding the feud had not been extinguished. Buckley had not just brought McGregor into the ordeal but also fired off on social media against Michael Bisping and Chael Sonnen, as he stated, “Ya mommas raised some h*es!!”

Furthermore, Cormier addressed the issue on his YouTube channel with Ben Askren. He said, “Why are fighters so sensitive? It’s bad. I mean, it is bad! Like bro, you know that Joaquin Buckley has still been trying to fight me and pick on me? Bro, why? Why?”

He further added, “That’s what Joaquin Buckley did in that post-fight, he shanked it into the woods. Calling out McGregor? It was just ridiculous. Maybe if you are going to do something like that, make one line about him. But don’t make the whole thing about him, right? Say one line just to get his name in there, and then go off on somebody else, it would’ve been much better!” Ahead of his clash against Stephen Thompson, ‘New Mansa’ sat down with DC to talk about the matter.

Buckley finally settles the beef with Cormier!

During the interview on DC’s YouTube channel, Buckley said, “So I just feel like you misquoted me, that’s all that was. That’s definitely what I said about Conor McGregor and you know, calling him out. You said that I called Conor McGregor’s mother a bad name and I didn’t do that.”

He cleared the air by saying that he did not have any intentions of insulting McGregor’s mother. Buckley even spoke about his upbringing by his mother and grandmother, who taught him to respect women. Cormier posted about the final stage of the duo resolving their issues on X. He posted a small video clip from his interview with the young fighter and captioned the post with his explanation.

He said, “Today I sit down with Joaquin Buckley, as you know, he and I had some issues about a call out a few months ago. Today we sat down and discussed that and so much more. We also talked about his fight this weekend vs Wonderboy! But as men, we needed to talk and I believe we did that. Make sure you don’t miss it! Live at 5 pm eastern/ 2 pm Pacific at my YouTube channel.”

Now, as Joaquin Buckley prepares to headline UFC Tampa/UFC on ESPN 63 against Colby Covington, the stakes couldn’t be higher for the surging welterweight contender. Riding a five-fight win streak, Buckley’s momentum has positioned him as one of the division’s most dangerous rising stars. A win over Covington, a former interim champion, could catapult Buckley into title contention and cement his place among the elite at 170 pounds. With the eyes of the MMA world on Tampa, ‘New Mansa’ has the perfect opportunity to prove that he’s ready for championship gold!