A striking statistical pattern has emerged involving three fighters who had never been knocked out before facing a common opponent. Leon Edwards had never lost by knockout in 28 professional fights until his bout with Joaquin Buckley. Li Jingliang similarly had never been knocked out in 27 fights before facing Buckley. Jack Della Maddalena had never been knocked out on the feet prior to fighting Buckley, with his only TKO loss coming from ground-and-pound while exhausted in the grappling phase. This represents an unusual pattern of fighters losing their knockout virginity to the same opponent consecutively.
A striking statistical anomaly has surfaced in the welterweight division: three separate fighters, none of whom had ever been stopped by strikes before, all suffered their first knockout loss to the same man — Joaquin Buckley — in consecutive fashion.
Leon Edwards had reached 28 professional fights without ever being knocked out before Buckley ended that streak. Li Jingliang, the durable Chinese veteran known as "The Leech," carried a 27-fight career without a knockout loss before running into the same fate. Jack Della Maddalena's record came with an asterisk — his only prior TKO defeat came from ground-and-pound during a grappling exchange, meaning he had never been finished on the feet until Buckley changed that too.
Buckley, nicknamed "New Mansa," carries a 21-8 record and competes as a southpaw out of Murcielago MMA. The 32-year-old American stands five-foot-ten with a 76-inch reach — a meaningful physical tool for a welterweight — and averages 3.88 significant strikes per minute. His power, it appears, does not always show up in volume.
Della Maddalena, ranked fourth in the welterweight division and thirteenth pound-for-pound at just 29 years old, entered that fight as one of the more dangerous strikers in the weight class. The Australian lands 5.57 significant strikes per minute at 51 percent accuracy, making his knockout loss all the more notable.
Li, at 38, is the oldest of the three and brought nearly a decade more professional experience into his encounter with Buckley.
Why it matters
- Buckley has now consecutively stripped knockout virginity from three experienced, durable welterweights
- The pattern raises genuine questions about his underrated finishing power despite a modest 36 percent striking accuracy rate
- Della Maddalena's ranking at fourth in the division gives the streak particular weight at the top of the welterweight ladder
- The statistical rarity of one fighter being the first to knock out three consecutive opponents is virtually unprecedented
