3 possible next opponents for Joaquin Buckley after stopping Vicente Luque

3. Michael Morales

One of the lesser-discussed rising superstars in MMA is Michael Morales, and while much of the mainstream and casual audiences are unfamiliar with Morales, he is quickly becoming a force in the UFC welterweight division.

While this matchup would see Buckley fighting down in the rankings, Morales is just on the outside of the top 15 and is fully deserving of an opportunity to break into these rankings. What could interest the newly ranked Buckley into accepting this matchup is the opportunity to hand an undefeated fighter his first career loss. At 16-0, Morales is yet to experience defeat in his professional MMA career and is on a clear path to the welterweight rankings.

Similar to a possible matchup with the aforementioned Brady, the UFC may want to stay away from matching up two potential future title contenders too early. However, a win over Morales would certainly stand out on the résumé of Buckley as arguably his most impressive victory. Similarly, it would show that Morales is ready to compete against the elite of the welterweight division with a win against a ranked opponent.

While there are even more competitors the UFC could choose to match Buckley up with for his next fight, either one of the above-discussed opponents would make for great matchups that would certainly excite fight fans around the world.