Statistics show that Joaquin Buckley has a 4-5 record in the UFC when he fails to complete any takedowns during a fight. Without a single successful takedown, he managed to defeat Colby Covington, Vicente Luque, Albert Duraev, and Jordan Wright, with all four victories coming by finish. Notably, in every fight that Buckley has lost, he also failed to complete any takedowns. The post poses the question of whether Buckley will manage at least one successful takedown against Sean Brady in their upcoming weekend bout.
A statistical breakdown of Joaquin Buckley's UFC career reveals a striking pattern heading into his weekend welterweight bout against Sean Brady: when Buckley fails to complete a single takedown, he goes 4-5, with every one of his UFC losses coming in fights where he recorded zero successful takedowns.
The numbers tell a nuanced story. All four of Buckley's victories in that winless-on-takedowns category came by finish, including wins over Colby Covington, Vicente Luque, Albert Duraev, and Jordan Wright. Yet his nine losses under the same condition show just how thin the margin is when he cannot establish any wrestling presence.
Brady enters the matchup ranked seventh in the welterweight division at 19-2, and the 33-year-old out of Renzo Gracie Philly is built precisely to exploit that vulnerability. Brady averages 3.53 takedowns per 15 minutes and lands significant strikes at a 55 percent accuracy rate, posting 3.96 significant strikes per minute. His game is structured around controlling where the fight takes place.
Luque, one of Buckley's finish victims in the no-takedown column, carries a 24-12-1 record and averages a heavy 4.83 significant strikes per minute at 51 percent accuracy for Kill Cliff FC. Duraev, another fighter Buckley finished without a takedown, stands at 16-5 and trains out of Xtreme Couture.
Why it matters
- Buckley has never survived a UFC loss when he goes zero-for-takedowns, making Brady's wrestling a direct threat to his path to victory
- Brady's 3.53 takedowns per 15 minutes ranks him among the division's more active grapplers at number seven in the welterweight rankings
- A finish-or-bust style from Buckley collides with a methodical, high-accuracy grappler in Brady, creating a clear stylistic contrast
The central question the data raises is whether Buckley can break his takedown drought on Saturday and whether it will matter if he does not.
