LAS VEGAS – Joaquin Buckley would’ve liked to kick off the first UFC event of 2022 with a big knockout, but a mid-February ass kicking will have to suffice.

Originally scheduled to fight Abdul Razak Hassan (11-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC) in January, Buckley (13-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) now has his chance to finish a finisher Saturday when the two fight at UFC Fight Night 201, which takes place at the UFC Apex.

“With all his wins coming by finishes in the first round, it’s beautiful,” Buckley told MMA Junkie at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “Of course, he’s a good fighter in the first round. We’ll see how the later rounds do. We’ll see how he does. At the end of the day, I’m always coming hard. First. Second. Third. I don’t think we’re heading to the judges with this one.”

The gameplan for Buckley is simple. He’s stepping into the cage to unleash a one-sided whooping. Someone is going to get knocked out, he predicted.

“If he gets me, he gets me,” Buckley said. “I don’t care about no surviving the first round, second round. I’m always going to come out there and give it my all. If he catches me, good to you. But you’ve got to catch me first, before I do.”

“… My gameplan is to beat his ass, period. Tyron Woodley, ‘I’m gonna beat your ass.’ That’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to go out there and beat his ass.’ That’s my gameplan.”

Buckley, 27, has won three of his most recent four outings with the lone loss coming via knockout against Alessio Di Chirico, the same opponent Alhassan recently defeated. The loss came one fight on the heels of back-to-back knockouts for Buckley, which included a finish of Jordan Wright and a “Knockout of the Year” winner against Impa Kasanganay. Most recently, Buckley competed in September when he defeated Antonio Arroyo via TKO.

UFC Fight Night 201 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex and streams on ESPN+.