UFC Tampa Results: Sooo … About Last Night | Covington vs. Buckley

On December 15, 2024By Littum

Last night (Sat. Dec. 14, 2024), the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ventured to Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida for UFC Tampa. The final event of 2024 promised to end with a bang rather than a whimper and featured some huge knockouts throughout the evening. There were fun fighters filling the event from top to bottom and the main event was very exciting. Fans have wanted to see Colby Covington defend his spot against an up-and-comer for years now, and it finally happened!

Let’s look back at UFC Tampa’s best performances and techniques:

Buckley Breaks Covington

I doubt Buckley could have imagined a much better performance. Sure, a true knockout rather than a cut-stop would have been nice, but no one who watched the fight is holding that against him. It was an absolute one-sided smashing, a night where Buckley destroyed his opponent’s entire month without nearly throwing a punch.

I also don’t think we give Buckley enough credit for his intelligence. Obviously, he’s a great athlete with great explosiveness, but the man also has a process. He approached this match with some really smart tactical choices. Hammering the body is the most obvious. He did so with pocketed right hooks and slamming knees, using both weapons to punish Covington’s takedown and clinch attempts. I don’t care how good Covington’s cardio is, nobody feels fresh as a daisy after a dozen Buckley bodies. In fact, he removed one of Covington’s greatest strengths by leveling the output playing field with bodywork.

Another neat wrinkle here was Buckley’s kicking game. He used linear side kicks to interrupt Covington’s movement, low inside kicks to weave in left hooks and sneaky high kicks to punctuate combinations. At one point I’m pretty sure I saw a triple plug. “New Mansa” isn’t a high-powered brawler – he’s a crafty MMA fighter who clearly studies the game.

After last night he will probably be in the Top Five as well. Finally, the world’s balance is turning.

UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Quarantillo

Killer Cub still has it!

Cub Swanson just added another legendary “Fight of the Night” (I wrote this before the official announcement, but I feel confident in my prediction) and knockout victory to his legacy as an all-around great action fighter. He shouldn’t be this good at the age of 41! Somehow the featherweight is still quite fast and carries the same hammer in his right hand. His cardio and durability have faded a bit, of course, but Swanson is still a very tough out in much of the division.

It’s incredible.

The match itself was of course fantastic. Swanson landed his right hands at will for most of the first round and somehow Billy Quarantillo ate them. “Billy Q” began to find his own success towards the end of the round and into the second. He countered Swanson’s head movement with tight knees, countered while Swanson hung around in the pocket, and got some control time with his wrestling.

All the while, Swanson was doing cool. He rolled into the pocket and tapped twice on the body. He attempted a tricky foot sweep/trip in the middle of the exchange and tried to play octopus guard during a wrestling scramble. He’s got so many veteran tricks up his sleeve that you wonder how damn good he’d be if we miraculously transported his current mind back to his 28-year-old body.

However, neither trick won the match. The win came down to fundamentals. In round three, Swanson began flicking jabs to great effect. Those snapshots cost little energy while still slowing Quarantillo’s forward pressure. As such, Swanson had a little more time to catch his breath, a little more time to set up that signature right hand.

It landed. Quarantillo fell. Go away.

A record setting Flyweight Match?

Manel Cape vs. Bruno Silva was fun. “Starboy” is a wild card, and you never really know when he will show up and throw down … or wait aimlessly on the counter. His last fight against Muhammad Mokaev was particularly disappointing. Fortunately, Silva is wildly aggressive, which played right into Kapes’ hands.

The Portuguese fighter is brilliantly fast. His ability to spring forward with sharp shots from both positions is fun to watch. Within a few minutes Silva’s face was bleeding freely and Kape was showboating. However, the pace remained high as Silva continued to swing for the fences.

The downside was all the low blows. Has there ever been so many in a three-round flyweight fight? Silva landed at least three painful ones and lost a point in the process. Kape may have returned the favor in the third with a snap kick that seemed to glance at the cup. Silva tried to get the referee to intervene, but Kape swarmed him and instead forced the finish.

Some may cry foul or bad sportsmanship, but I’m not surprised Kape showed no mercy after getting kicked low so many times himself. Afterwards, he cut a great promo for a title shot. A little more consistency would be great at first, but I’m still convinced that on a good night, Cape has championship potential.

Out of NOWHERE!

Vitor Petrino vs. Dustin Jacoby produced one of the ugliest knockouts of the year, but it wasn’t a ton of fun until that moment. Neither man could really find his range and get comfortable throwing volume, which meant there was a lot of hesitation and air swing from both.

Petrino is very clearly one of the most athletic men in the division, and he’s also massive. The problem is, he doesn’t have a ton of technical skills. His stance is still awkward and unbalanced even when throwing dangerous punches. Jacoby, far more experienced and cunning but without the otherworldly athleticism, used patience to unravel his foe. He didn’t make any mistakes or fight with the younger man. He fought behind his jab and movement and waited for his moment.

That strategy didn’t make for great viewing, as mentioned, but it was all worth it when Jacoby timed a perfect right hand inside a Petrino left hook. Petrino crumbled to the floor face first, and Jacoby returned to the win column with serious style points.

22 wins, 22 finishes

It’s time to get Joel Alvarez off the undercard and into ranked match ups.

The Spanish fighter is not perfect. His wrestling is still somewhat of a liability and he has struggled to make weight on a few occasions. Even given these issues, it’s really hard to watch him struggle and not think he has elite potential. The Spanish “Phenom” is a masterful finisher and an incredible offensive talent, and he has proven it time and time again.

His opponent, Drakkar Klose, is a very talented veteran who was riding a four-fight winning streak leading up to this fight – not for a second did Alvarez seem remotely worried about his foe’s play. He went towards Klose without fear. Even when he was taken down, his confidence was completely unwavering. As soon as he got up and started throwing, he landed and hurt Klose.

Klose has let it out with plenty of dangerous opponents, but he had that nothing on the feet for Alvarez. In seconds he was hurt and dove into a perfect flying knee that stole his consciousness in an instant.

Alvarez is a lightweight to watch and has now won seven of his last eight and more than deserves a ranked name for next.

Additional thoughts

Michael Johnson defeat Ottman Azaitar via second round knockout (highlights): “The Menace” just outclassed his opponent here. He and his team game planned well for the straightforward puncher who clearly focused on blocking the upper hand and firing back in combination. Johnson hurt Azaitar several times before his strategy worked perfectly in the second, landing his best counter right hook since flattening Dustin Poirier all those years ago. If we don’t hold incompetent judges against him, Johnson has essentially won five of his last six. Not bad for a 38-year-old famous for inconsistency!
Sean Woodson defeat Fernando Padilla via knockout in the first round (highlights): For a while now, it has been obvious that Woodson is a smart boxer by MMA standards. However, he tends to do a lot of jabs and quick combos, which doesn’t always result in a finish. Padilla, a careless 145-pound guy, forced the issue immediately and subsequently made Woodson sit down on his shots more in the face of that aggression. Padilla couldn’t sustain his own early surge forward, and as soon as he settled down, Woodson really started to touch him. The damage mounted until a pair of nasty hooks floored Padilla, extending Woodson’s unbeaten streak to seven. He called for a ranked opponent in his next fight, and it’s definitely about time!

For complete UFC Tampa results and play-by-play, click here.