Buckley dominates Covington for TKO win

Joaquin Buckley extended his UFC welterweight win streak to six straight with a dominant TKO win over three-time UFC welterweight title challenger Colby Covington in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Tampa fight card from Amalie Arena. As for Covington, the former interim UFC champion is on the first losing skid of his career after dropping a title tilt to Leon Edwards in December 2023. Covington entered UFC Tampa as the no. 6 ranked fighter in the official UFC welterweight rankings, while Buckley was the no. 9 in the division. Expect Buckley to rise to at least No. 6 after the results from the UFC Tampa event.

UFC Tampa Results: Covington vs. Buckley round 1

Buckley entered Saturday’s game card as a -225 betting favorite over Covington, who was a +185 betting underdog. The betting pick heading into the contest was for Buckley to win via knockout.

Covington, who fights out of Florida, had the crowd behind him to start the fight, but the chants for Covington quickly died down thanks to Buckley’s striking acumen.

Covington has never been known as a striker, and the difference on the feet between Covington, who has four career knockouts (one being a TKO rib injury), and Buckley, who had 14 KOs prior to UFC Tampa, was evident early on.

Covington’s offense was there to stay busy and set up takedown attempts. Meanwhile, Buckley looked to finish the game with his power, output and shot selection. The problem for Covington was that he had no answer to Buckley’s punches, and his early takedown attempts were few and far between.

Not only were Covington’s takedown attempts slow and telegraphed, but his attempts to move forward and use his jab to clinch were also slow. That approach allowed Buckley to tag Covington and back off without giving his opponent the position he was looking for.

Buckley mixed up his targets and techniques as he applied pressure and threw effective combinations. the whole round. Buckley threw his punches with power but didn’t get knocked down, showing that he was ready for a long fight and that while he was looking to score, he wasn’t looking for a knockout with every punch. However, he was looking for damage and scoring, which he found.

At the end of the first five minutes, Covington’s field goal percentage was a paltry 19 percent, 10 for 51, while Buckley went 23 for 55 with a game-low 41 percent efficiency. Buckley had also opened a nasty cut above Covington’s right eye.

UFC Tampa Results: Covington vs. Buckley round 2

Covington was more active in the opening of the second round, throwing short punches and pressing as he looked to drop for a takedown. But his first takedown attempt of the round was ill-advised as Covington fired while close to the fence. This position of Covington’s takedown attempt allowed Buckley to sprawl and put Covington against the cage. Buckley’s situational awareness allowed him to score with a knee to the body and a flurry of strikes.

After that, Buckley seemed more careful with his positioning, doing his best to keep the action open while not allowing Covington to close in and work from the clinch. Buckley also did a great job of working the body with his strikes, which seemed to sap some of the cardio from his foe, who had been known for his gas tank and ability to keep attacking over five rounds.

Covington secured his first takedown, and only takedown of the fight, against the fence with 3:30 left in the second round. However, Buckley was active on the bottom, preventing Covington from putting together the short strikes he had been known for. Covington kept Buckley on the mat for less than 90 seconds without doing any damage or scoring.

Buckley was a little slower with his striking attacks after the takedown, but he still landed with power and efficiency, especially with his jab for the remainder of the second stanza.

When the second round ended, Covington had landed 19 of 51 significant strikes (38 percent), while Buckley went 28 for 55 for a 50 percent landing rate.

UFC Tampa Results: Covington vs. Buckley round 3

Between the second and third rounds, the cageside doctor told referee Dan Miragliotta that she wasn’t going to let the fight go much longer. The cut that Covington suffered in the first round was in a horrific spot right above Covington’s eye. The judge then told Covington, “You heard her. You need to protect that eye.” Miragliotta repeated this warning before starting the action.

To open the third stanza, Covington fired another takedown with no setup, which seemed like a sign of either desperation or fatigue. The former interim champion paid for his hubris with Buckley coming up and landing body shots before returning to fighting at the distance, showcasing power, speed and shot selection.

Another failed sloppy takedown put Covington down briefly. As the combatants rose, Buckley held Covington against the cage, unloaded strikes, opened the cut around his eye and looked to finish off his tired and exhausted foe.

A third sloppy and slow takedown attempt followed and Covington looked defeated as Buckley looked for openings to score with his strikes while also looking for a submission on the mat. Covington scored a reversal with less than two minutes left in the third round, but Buckley controlled the stance of his opponent, who appeared to land short punches while covering Buckley in his blood. Buckley’s defense negated any scoring Covington hoped to do in that position with his short strikes.

With 18 seconds left, after the fighters had regained their feet, Miragliotta called the doctor back into the cage to look at Covington’s eye. She quickly stopped the action and told the judge, “He’s going to lose this eyelid.”

The striking statistics for the third round were again in Buckley’s favor. He landed 24 of 41 significant strikes (58 percent), while Covington went eight for 23 (34 percent)

The official end of the contest came at 4:42 of the third round.

UFC Tampa Results: Covington vs. Buckley – Dana White reacts

“There’s no question it was a bad cut, but that fight is not going to be stopped in Vegas,” White said on the UFC Tampa post-fight press conference. “That fight continues in Vegas. 100 percent.”

“Listen, Colby is an older guy who struggles every once in a while,” White added. “He’s always durable and he’s always tough, like I just said. Did you hear the body shots he got hit with tonight? And the head shots he took? That would have stopped other guys. Colby is tough, but I also feel that Colby wasn’t too mad that the match was stopped by the cut.The cut definitely bothered him.

“He’s obviously still one of the top-ranked guys. What we said about him all night, took big shots, stayed in there, the cut obviously bothered him, but I also think if that fight is in Vegas, that fight didn’t stop with that cut. But I don’t think Colby was too upset when it did (get stopped). It bothered him.”

UFC Tampa Results: Covington vs. Buckley – Dana White on Joaquin Buckley

“Look, you go in and beat Colby Covington, that’s a big deal,” White said. “Love him or hate him, (Colby Covington is) a dog, (expletive) tough as nails. Took big shots to the body tonight. Took big shots to the head that would have knocked a lot of people out. Colby is durable and tough, but when you get cut, anything can happen.”

UFC Tampa Results: Covington vs. Buckley – Buckley calls Kamaru Usman

After the UFC Tampa results were read, Buckley cried out former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, who is the no. 3 ranked UFC fighter at 170 pounds.