3 possible next opponents for Joaquin Buckley after stopping Vicente Luque

2. Geoff Neal

Geoff Neal is coming off of back-to-back losses to two of the brightest up-and-coming prospects in the welterweight division. While many believe there is no such thing as a good loss, his performances in defeats to Ian Garry and Shavkat Rakhmonov, who both remain undefeated, proved that Neal is still a very competitive high-level fighter.

Neal is currently the No. 10 ranked welterweight contender, which would seemingly give Buckley the opportunity to break into the top 10 with a victory. He is also a great test for any fighter looking to make a jump in the welterweight rankings as he has the skill to give any opponent a competitive fight. The UFC certainly felt like Neal was the appropriate matchup for two of the division's fastest-rising stars in Garry and Rakhmonov, and with an undefeated start at welterweight, Neal could be a perfect matchup to see where Buckley stands amongst the elite of the sport.

The matchup also has all the makings of a potential fight of the night or highlight reel knockout finish as both fighters prefer to keep the fight standing and have the power to end the contest at any moment. Both fighters also hold knockout victories over Luque which highlights the similarities in their fight-finishing ability over one of the toughest fighters in the UFC welterweight division.

Neal and Buckley have both fought on a similar timeline with their most recent contests coming within under two months of one another, so a matchup taking place in the next few months makes sense.