Joaquin Buckley vs. Nursulton Ruziboev UFC on ESPN 56 Odds, Time, and Prediction

Born and raised in St. Louis, Joaquin Buckley will be fighting in his hometown on Saturday, May 11. He’s locking horns with Nursulton Ruziboev, a fighter from Uzbekistan, who’s looking for his 11th straight win. Still, based on the UFC on ESPN 56 odds, the American fighter is more likely to win.

MoneylineOddsJoaquin Buckley-150Nursulton Ruziboev+120

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When, Where, and How to Watch?

Place: Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri
Date: Saturday, May 11, 2024
Time: ~10:00 p.m. ET
How to Watch: ESPN

Reasons Why Joaquin Buckley Is a -150 Favorite to Win in St. Louis
Joaquin Buckley is 18-6 with 13 wins by KO/TKO. He’s never won or lost a fight by submission. The reason for this is that he always seems to manage to turn his fights into striking duels. So far, it’s been working great for him.

It’s really no surprise that he likes fighting that way. After all, he’s one of the finest kickboxers in the UFC Welterweight Division. This guy lands 4.06 significant strikes per minute, which are also incredibly powerful.

He’s also very fun to watch, the evidence being that he’s the man responsible for one of the greatest KO wins in the history of the UFC – the spinning backkick knockout that turned the lights off for Impa Kasanganay.

His only downside is that he’s a relatively short guy. He’s 5’8, which isn’t too short for a welterweight fighter. However, on May 11, he’s fighting against a 6’5 opponent.

Can Nursulton Ruziboev Take Advantage of His Height and Reach?
Nursulton Ruziboev is a 6’5 fighter who’s moving down to the Welterweight Division after two wins in the Middleweight Division of the UFC. Both of those wins were by KO/TKO. And before that, he won eight fights straight in order promotions, each time by a finish.

He’s 34-8-2-2 overall with 32 finishes – 20 KO/TKO wins and 12 by submission. He’s a decent boxer who lands just under 4 significant strikes a minute in the UFC. What’s also interesting is that so far, he’s only gotten hit 4 times in the UFC.

What’s also interesting is that despite his height advantage over most of his opponents, he doesn’t mind getting in the clinch or taking the fight to the ground. In fact, we suspect that he might do precisely that on May 11, and try to finish Buckley by submission.

Joaquin Buckley vs. Nursulton Ruziboev Prediction
Our prediction for the UFC on ESPN 56 co-main event is that the fight will not last until the final bell. One of these will finish the other one. But who will it be? Even though the Buckley vs. Ruziboev odds favor the St. Louis native, we think the visitor from Uzbekistan will stage an upset.

Pick: Nursulton Ruziboev by submission