Joaquin Buckley was denied entry to the State Farm Arena earlier tonight (Sat., June 14, 2025) at UFC Atlanta LIVE on ESPN/ESPN+ in Atlanta, Ga., mere hours before his main event showdown with former UFC welterweight Kamaru Usman.
Buckley, who is riding a nice six-fight win streak since returning to welterweight in 2023, is expected to show out tonight against a returning Usman. “Nigerian Nightmare” hasn’t fought in 20 months and bring a few injury concerns into the Octagon, which is why Buckley is the betting favorite to win UFC Atlanta’s main event.
However, Buckley has to be inside the arena to actually fight Usman.
Seems crazy, but the welterweight contender was denied entry to the State Farm Arena earlier tonight when he tried entering through a security check. Buckley explained that he was part of the main event fight, but security still prevented “New Mansa” and his team from getting by. Someone from Buckley’s team claimed UFC couldn’t escort them through so they had to do it themselves.
Check out the incident in the above video player courtesy of Buckley’s Instagram.
“Crazy work but we on the way now not missing out on this main event,” wrote Buckley.
It’s only a matter of time before UFC CEO Dana White waves his magic wand and Buckley gets right in, but this is still an unfortunate situation for “New Mansa” and his team. Instead of preparing in the locker room for the biggest fight of his career Buckley is hanging out at security check-in.
LIVE! Stream UFC Atlanta On ESPN+
WELTERWEIGHT CROSSROADS! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) crashes State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, on Sat., June 14, 2025, with UFC Atlanta. Former 170-pound champion, Kamaru Usman, collides with fast-rising knockout artist, Joaquin Buckley, in a blistering main event mashup scheduled for five, five-minute rounds. In UFC Atlanta’s co-main event, former strawweight titleholder, Rose Namajunas, locks horns with grizzled 125-pound veteran, Miranda Maverick, setting the stage for an explosive showdown in the women’s flyweight division.
Don’t miss a single second of face-punching action!
