Joaquin Buckley lost his parents at a very young age. ‘New Mansa’, currently ranked number 11 in the UFC’s competitive welterweight division, lost his father, who was never in the picture. His mother lived with him in his grandmother’s house for most of his youth but she, too, tragically passed away because of a heart condition when the youngster was in sixth grade.

However, this didn’t stop the determined Buckley, who, despite the serious financial problems that he faced, has become one of the best welterweights in the world. As he sets up to face Nursulton Ruziboev at UFC on ESPN: Lewis vs. Nascimento on May 11, we take a look at the gyms and coaches that took Buckley from an orphan in Missouri to being a ranked fighter in the UFC.

Who are Joaquin Buckley’s coaches?

Like many of his American counterparts, Joaquin Buckley started his martial arts journey in high school. Growing up in St. Louis, Missouri without his parents, ‘New Mansa’ found wrestling and took a liking to it. After trying his hand at wrestling, the now 30-year-old found his calling in combat sports and started to train in mixed martial arts while he was still in school.

The Missouri native decided to take the leap and started his professional MMA career straight after graduating at the now-defunct Shamrock FC on debut. During his early days, the fighter used to train at Finney’s MMA in St. Louis, Missouri but decided to change things up after he joined the UFC in 2020. Buckley joined the Murcielago MMA gym in Lansing, Michigan led by Joaquin Murcielago.

In addition, the welterweight has had a stint with Xtreme Couture head coach Tim Welch, who trained the likes of Sean O’Malley, Sean Strickland, and Francis Ngannou under him. “Vegas going to be a regular stop. I meshed real good with Eric Nicksick, the head coach at Xtreme Couture — he’s good folks — so I definitely see us working together in the future for sure,” Buckley told UFC.com in 2020.

Coming with a three-match winning streak, Buckley is hoping another win in his upcoming bout will elevate him to fighting the top contenders in the division. And the Missouri native knows exactly how to make it happen.

Buckley aiming to fight Ian Garry

Joaquin Buckley, coming off three consecutive wins will take on Uzbek welterweight prospect Nursulton Ruziboev on May 11. And the American is hoping a victory over the 30-year-old, who hasn’t lost a fight since 2021, will open new opportunities.

The welterweight fighter is angling for a fight with #7 ranked undefeated welterweight prospect Ian ‘The Future’ Garry, and is sure a victory over the Uzbek will help him get in the picture with the Irishman. “Yes, so, when he was talking about, he only fights up to ranking. I believe he’s still ranked above Vicente Luque, but it puts me a lot closer to Ian Garry than he would like to be. So, you know, we gonna make Ian Garry a little bit more uncomfortable with me being in the rankings,” the 30-year-old said in a recent interview.

Garry, of course, is coming off of a decision victory over Geoff Neal at UFC 298 and is one of the most recognizable names in the promotion at the moment. A fight against Garry will certainly help elevate the Missouri native’s profile in the division and help him eventually fit into the title picture.