Joaquin Buckley thinks Sean Brady will have newfound respect for him once they collide at UFC 328.

Buckley and Brady are scheduled to compete in a pivotal welterweight clash on Saturday’s card in Newark. Both men are coming off setbacks. “New Mansa” was defeated by former UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman via unanimous decision in his last outing. Brady suffered a first-round TKO loss to Michael Morales at UFC 322.

As Saturday night draws near, Buckley believes he’s in for a tough challenge against Brady. He told Mike Heck of MMAFighting that he hopes that his UFC 328 opponent will unblock him on social media once they’re done sharing the Octagon.

“To be honest with you, man, this is going to be one of those good type of fights that I’ll get everything just flowing,” Buckley said. “But Sean Brady, I know that he’s not going to be no scrub. I know that he’s not going to be no punk. He’s going to go out there and make it a fight, and he’s going to try to look for his takedowns and look for his clinch opportunities, and that’s what we’re looking for. We want to get close. …

“[It was] no rush, no picking of the fighters or my own willing to fight somebody different. I think Sean Brady and myself is a match made in heaven. That’s all I’m going to say: It’s a match made in heaven, you know what I’m saying? After this fight, he definitely got to unblock me [on social media], man. He blocked me. He still got me blocked. But I respect him because at the end of the day. I can’t do what I want to do without an opponent, and obviously, he signed that contract, so I have nothing but respect for that man once we step in there.”

Buckley can take a big leap on the official UFC welterweight rankings with a win on Saturday. He currently holds the No. 9 spot, while Brady is hanging at No. 6.

What is your final prediction for the UFC 328 fight between Joaquin Buckley and Sean Brady? Share your pick in the comments below.