Colby Covington dominated, suffers the end of the game

Joaquin Buckley sliced ​​and diced his way to the biggest win of his career at UFC on ESPN 63.

In Saturday’s main event at Amalie Arena from Tampa, Fla., Buckley (21-6 MMA, 11-4 UFC) defeated former title challenger Colby Covington (17-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) by medical stoppage due to a cut at 4:42 of round 3.

Covington was cut on his right eyebrow early in the fight. As the fight progressed, the cut got worse – enough to the point where the presiding doctor said between rounds 2 and 3 that if it got worse, she would stop the fight.

True to his word, when referee Dan Miragliotta called timeout with 18 seconds left in round 3 to re-examine the gash, the doctor stopped the fight.

Injuries aside, Buckley was very successful in the nearly 15 minutes that the fight lasted. Covington was largely unsuccessful with his takedown attempts, although he did score one early in Round 3. Covington’s offense didn’t do much for Buckley, who conversely was able to land his fair share of punches.

With the win, Buckley continues his run up the division ladder with his sixth win in a row. He asked the crowd three callout options during his post-game interview. Kamaru Usman topped Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad in that poll.

With Hulk Hogan on the line and Chael Sonnen in his corner, Covington was unable to find the recipe to come back from a disappointing December 2023 loss to champion Leon Edwards. Saturday’s defeat was his second loss in a row and his third in four games.

Due to a doctor’s stoppage, Joaquin Buckley wins by TKO.#UFCTampa pic.twitter.com/rj6iEjNFkK

— UFC (@ufc) 15 December 2024

Complete UFC on ESPN 63 results:

• Joaquin Buckley def. Colby Covington via TKO (stoppage) – Round 3, 4:42
• Cub Swanson def. Billy Quarantillo via knockout (punch) – Round 3, 1:36
• Manel Cape def. Bruno Silva via TKO (punch) – Round 3, 1:57
• Dustin Jacoby def. Vitor Petrino via knockout (punch) – Round 3, 3:44
• Daniel Marcos def. Adrian Yanez via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
• Navajo Stirling def. Tuco Tokkos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Michael Johnson def. Ottman Azaitar via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 2:03
• Joel Alvarez def. Drakkar Klose via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 2:48
• Sean Woodson def. Fernando Padilla via TKO (punch) – Round 1, 4:58
• Felipe Lima def. Miles Johns via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Miranda Maverick def. Jamey-Lyn Horth via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Davey Grant def. Ramon Taveras via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
• Piera Rodriguez def. Josefine Knutsson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

For more on the card, visit the MMA Junkies event hub for UFC on ESPN 63.