UFC Atlantic City video: Joaquin Buckley punishes Vicente Luque with vicious stoppage

A new contender has emerged at welterweight after Joaquin Buckley scored an impressive win over Vicente Luque in the UFC Atlantic City co-main event.

In his third straight fight at 170 pounds, Buckley looked better than ever as he came forward with little fear of reprisal, which actually led to Luque pulling guard. That led to his downfall as Buckley blasted away at him with some seriously vicious ground and pound to earn a stoppage win with the fight ending at 3:17 in the second round.

Afterward, Buckley paid homage to Luque for accepting the challenge when he claims so many other ranked opponents declined.

“They done messed up and gave your boy a ranking!” Buckley shouted. “On the road to gold. Everybody that I called out, never wanted to give me the opportunity but Vicente was the only one. Nothing but love for that man.

“Anywhere we want to take it, I can get you out of there. I was just smiling. All he was doing was covering up. I was landing, I was landing. I just kept punching.”

In a battle between two noted powerhouses, Buckley seemed a little more willing to engage as he came headhunting on Luque, who was trying to be a bit more tactical with his combinations. Buckley was throwing with all of his body weight behind every strike thrown and Luque was cautious not to get caught up in a wild exchange.

Midway through the second round, Luque actually pulled guard to get Buckley to the ground but that strategy backfired rather spectacularly. As Luque held on briefly, Buckley broke loose and started raining down on him with a barrage of punches.

With Luque just covering up, Buckley erupted with some vicious ground and pound as he continued hammering away with huge shots with several punches slipping through to do damage. Buckley continued firing punches until referee Keith Peterson had no choice but to step in and rescue Luque from any further harm.

It was an incredibly impressive showing for Buckley, who seems like a real force of nature in the welterweight division. Following the win, Buckley called for his chance to compete at the upcoming UFC Fight Night card in St. Louis in May as he looks to continue his climb up the ranks at 170 pounds.