Thompson vs Buckley

Who won Thompson vs Buckley?

Joaquin Buckley beat Stephen Thompson by knockout in the 3rd round during the prelims of UFC 307, on Saturday 5th October 2024 at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Welterweight division, which meant the weight limit was 170 pounds (12.1 stone or 77.1 KG).

Thompson vs Buckley stats

Stephen Thompson stepped into the octagon with a record of 17 wins, 7 losses and 1 draw, 8 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 1 by submission.

Joaquin Buckley made his way to the cage with a record of 19 wins, 6 losses and 0 draws, 13 of those wins coming by knock out.

This was Stephen Thompson's 21st fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2012. Joaquin Buckley marked his 15th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2020.

Stephen Thompson's UFC record stood at 12-8-1, while Joaquin Buckley's came in at 11-4-0.

The stats suggested Buckley had a large advantage in power over Thompson, boasting a 68% knock out percentage over Thompson's 47%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Thompson had a slight advantage over Buckley, with a 6% submission rate over Buckley's 0%.

Stephen Thompson was the older man by 12 years, at 42 years old.

Thompson had a height advantage of 2 inches over Buckley. Despite this, Buckley had a 1-inch reach advantage.

Thompson was the more experienced professional fighter, having had the same amount of fights, and made his debut in 2010, 4 years and 7 months earlier than Buckley, whose first professional fight was in 2014. He had fought 13 more professional rounds, 74 to Buckley's 61.

Thompson vs Buckley form

Stephen Thompson had beaten 1 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Anthony Pettis at UFC on ESPN+ 6 on 23rd March 2019 by knockout in the 2nd round at Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, United States.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Darren Till at UFC Fight Night 130 on 27th May 2018 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at Echo Arena, Liverpool, United Kingdom.

Going into that contest, he had won against Jorge Masvidal at UFC 217 on 4th November 2017 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Madison Square Garden, New York City, United States.

Before that, he had been defeated by Tyron Woodley at UFC 209 on 4th March 2017 by majority decision in their UFC Welterweight championship fight at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

He had drawn with Tyron Woodley at UFC 205 on 12th November 2016 by majority draw in their 5 round contest in their UFC Welterweight championship fight at Madison Square Garden, New York.

Buckley had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight before this contest, he had beaten Nursulton Ruziboev at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Nascimento on 11th May 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Enterprise Center, St. Louis, United States.

Previous to that, he had defeated Vicente Luque at UFC Fight Night: Blanchfield vs. Fiorot on 30th March 2024 by knockout in the 2nd round at Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City.

Going into that contest, he was victorious against Alex Morono at UFC Fight Night – Green vs Dawson on 7th October 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had won against Andre Fialho at UFC Fight Night – Pennington vs. Aldana 2 on 20th May 2023 by knockout in the 2nd round at UFC Apex, Las Vegas.

He had lost to Chris Curtis at UFC 282 on 10th December 2022 by knockout in the 2nd round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Joaquin Buckley had been fighting more than Stephen Thompson.

Going to this contest, Stephen Thompson had last fought 5 years, 11 months and 18 days ago, while Joaquin Buckley's last outing had been 10 months and 2 days ago.

Thompson's last 5 fights had come over a period of 8 years, 4 months and 1 day, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year and 8 months. In those fights, he fought a total of 20 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 4 rounds on average.

Buckley's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 3 months and 3 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 5 months and 13 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 12 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.4 rounds on average.

What time did Thompson vs Buckley start?

The fighters were expected to walk out at around 12:30 AM UTC , which was 8:30 PM EST or 5:30 PM PST on the West Coast of America, or 1:30 AM BST in the UK.

What were the odds on Thompson vs Buckley?

Stephen Thompson was a 187/100 (+190) underdog going into the contest, while Joaquin Buckley made his way into the ring at 11/25 (-230) with oddsmakers.