Top-10 UFC Welterweight Slams Shakur Stevenson for Boxing-UFC Comparison

Shakur Stevenson's recent comments on MMA only confirmed that the boxing vs. UFC debate will likely never end.

Stevenson became the latest boxer to call out MMA fighters on Monday, when he welcomed any UFC champion to fight him in the ring on an Adin Ross Kick stream. His statement ignited a flurry of angry responses from the MMA community.

Stevenson called out for UFC comments

Shakur Stevenson | IMAGO / Torsten Helmke

Joaquin Buckley, the UFC's No. 9-ranked welterweight contender, had the biggest issue with Stevenson's comments. Buckley went on an extended rant on Instagram Live in response to Stevenson, calling out the WBO and The Ring super lightweight champion for his performance in his recent win over Teofimo Lopez.

"Y'all boxers are so disrespectful to us athletes, bro," Buckley said. "Shakur, I'm on you... Yeah, you beat [Teofimo Lopez], but you should've knocked his a** out cold. But because your little record, because you don't want to get embarrassed, you want to blame, 'Oh, this the art of boxing. I just want to show my jab all night.' You a hoe. You ain't want to go out there and put on your best performance.

"So with that being said, stop disrespecting us, bro. We are way more entertaining than y'all. It is what it is. When we watch you all fight, it's predictable on who's gonna win. There ain't no excitement in that. In the UFC, you don't know who gonna get it. From the wrestlers, the submissions, the knees, elbows, kicks, spinning back kicks, spinning fists. And y'all try to say you're the real fights. How y'all the real fights? If we came outside, literally where we are right now, I could kill you."

Joaquin Buckley went OFF on Shakur Stevenson for saying boxing is better than the UFC:

"You a hoe. Stop disrespecting us bro. We are way more entertaining than y'all... If we came outside, I could kill you." 😳

(via @Newmansa94) https://t.co/B8NkOVsfiq pic.twitter.com/04nNNh2oqD
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 11, 2026

Buckley ended his rant by calling out Terence Crawford, Stevenson's close friend and the former No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer.

UFC stars respond to Shakur Stevenson's MMA comments

Buckley was far from the only UFC fighter to have an issue with Stevenson's comments. Several other MMA fighters responded to clips from the live stream with takes similar to Buckley's.

"The word 'fight' should be forbidden from a boxer's vocabulary," UFC heavyweight Josh Hokit tweeted.

The word “fight” should be forbidden from a boxers vocabulary.. https://t.co/zjaQrNDWZI
— The Incredible Hok (@Josh_HokitUFC) February 10, 2026

The boxing-UFC debate always boils down to the same two points. Boxers despise MMA fighters, claiming they can crossover to the ring whenever they want and consistently stress their technical prowess in the sweet science. UFC stars counter by telling boxers that they are the "real" fighters.

Despite often overlapping in the realm of combat sports, boxing and MMA will never see eye to eye and will continue to butt heads.

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