3 potential next opponents for Joaquin Buckley

2. Geoff Neal

Geoff Neal (15-6) is ranked No. 10 at welterweight and has lost his last two fights to Shavkat Rakhmonov (18-0) and Ian Machado Garry (14-0). He should have to fight back in the rankings and if Burns isn't available, this would be an exciting potential matchup for Buckley.

Neal isn't likely to pose the grappling threat Burns would. A fight between Buckley and Neal could occur predominantly on the feet given that both competitors are accomplished strikers. Buckley didn't name Neal as a possibility, but that doesn't mean this matchup couldn't be scheduled as a potential Fight Night main event or on the undercard of a pay-per-view.

The one downside for Buckley is that Neal isn't as significant a jump up in competition (at least in terms of rankings) as Burns is. However, Neal is still a welterweight veteran with many good wins in the division. Beating him does a lot for Buckley's stock, gives him five-straight wins, and earns him bargaining power to call for Burns or someone similar again in the future.

Neal needs a win badly or risks falling further behind in the rankings. He's slightly bigger than Buckley and arguably has more high-level experience under his belt thus far in his career. Both men could capitalize on this fight and it should be a possibility for matchmakers.