Buckley, who’s 4-0 since dropping to 170 pounds in 2023, believes a win over former UFC title challenger Stephen Thompson this Saturday at UFC 307 will put him into title contention. Buckley (19-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) respects what Thompson (17-7-1 MMA, 12-7-1 UFC) has done in his career, but sees him as another step to get to his ultimate goal.

“You go back and watch, I think it was a fight ago, he fought the big (Uzbek) dude, he took him down,” Thompson told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC 307 media day. “He won by takedown. So I prepared for that. I knew that was going to happen.