Joaquin Buckley’s highly productive 2024 came to a close with his biggest fight to date, a victory which is expected to move him up a few more spots in the welterweight division’s top 10 standings.
Buckley dominated Colby Covington for nearly three full rounds before a stoppage emerged on Saturday night, closing out UFC’s 2024 schedule from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, USA and closing out an incredibly impressive 12-month stretch for the rising 170-pound fighter.
Covington’s inability to wrestle forced him into Buckley’s game plan, keeping the former interim champ in unfavorable stand-up exchanges where he consumed fight-ending damage.
In particular it was a cut just under the right eyebrow of Covington which emerged early and developed significantly as the bout progressed, eventually forcing a doctor stoppage by the third frame.
Wrestling expert Covington wasted no time trying to get the fight to the mat, trying twice for a takedown in the opening round. However, Buckley shut down both attempts, instead keeping the fight on their feet.
While Covington finally earned his first takedown of the night by the second round, he found roughly a minute of control on the mat before the fight went back into Buckley’s wheelhouse. Near the end of the round, Buckley seemed to be only gaining momentum against the fading and bloodied vet.
Buckley got extra crafty by the third round, at one point trying for an inverted triangle choke after the fight hit the ground. Attempts to end the matchup in a flashy way no longer became available for Buckley eventually, as a doctor examined Covington’s cut and deemed him unfit to continue fighting.
Despite the highly successful outing for Buckley, the first thing he said to the live Tampa crowd was an apology for his unceremonious win.
“Tampa, I know that ain’t the fight that y’all really wanted,” Buckley said in his post-fight interview. “I know we spilled a little blood, but I know y’all wanted to see a knockout. I should have hurried up in the first round and got that for y’all, my bad.”
The dominant showing from Buckley closed out a year that saw him score four different wins, boosting his current win streak to a total of six consecutive fights. Victories earlier in 2024 saw him stop Stephen Thompson and Vicente Luque with strikes as well.
Now with a first UFC main event win under his belt, Buckley is expected to move higher in the division’s top 10. The “New Mansa” entered this weekend ranked ninth, but will likely hop over some fellow contenders after getting past sixth-place Covington.
After one big win, Buckley has quickly looked to get another high-ranked matchup. Buckley asked the Tampa crowd which of three future opponents would be most enticing for him: Leon Edwards, Kamaru Usman, or Belal Muhammad.
“I think it’s Kamaru Usman [next],” Buckey said after hearing the crowd’s cheers.
This weekend, Covington, who took the fight on a few weeks’ notice to replace Ian Machado Garry, appeared for the first time since a 2023 title loss to Leon Edwards. The controversial contender has fought at the championship level at welterweight for years, but through his experience at the top has yet to see an undisputed title run.
Saturday marked Covington’s first non-title loss since a 2015 defeat to Warlley Alves, putting him further away from the title picture than he has been in years.
The co-main event of Saturday’s UFC card saw 25-fight promotional vet Cub Swanson score a third-round strikes finish win over Billy Quarantillo in a “Fight of the Night” performance. Earlier in the night, ranked flyweight Manel Kape stopped the momentum of Bruno Silva with a three-round striking clinic.
Here are the quick results from Saturday night’s show:
Main Card (10:00PM EST) (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Bout 13: Joaquin Buckley def. Colby Covington via TKO, Stirkes (RD 3, 4:42)
Bout 12: Cub Swanson def. Billy Quarantillo via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 1:36)
Bout 11: Manel Kape def. Bruno Silva via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 1:57)
Bout 10: Dustin Jacoby def. Vitor Petrino via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 3:44)
Bout 9: Daniel Marcos def. Adrian Yanez via Decision, Split
Bout 8: Navajo Stirling def. Tuco Tokkos via Decision, Unanimous
Preliminary Card (7:00PM EST) (ESPNews / ESPN+)
Bout 7: Michael Johnson def. Ottman Azaitar via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:03)
Bout 6: Joel Alvarez def. Drakkar Klose via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:48)
Bout 5: Sean Woodson def. Fernando Padilla via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:58)
Bout 4: Felipe Lima def. Miles Johns via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Miranda Maverick def. Jamey-Lyn Horth via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Davey Grant def. Ramon Taveras via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 1: Piera Rodriguez def. Josefine Knutsson via Decision, Unanimous
Knockdown News 