Welterweight contender Joaquin Buckley produced a big performance in Florida to stop former interim champion Colby Covington and put himself towards the sharp end of the UFC’s 170-pound division.
Buckley let his heavy hands fly from the very start of the main event at UFC Tampa, and showcased some solid takedown defence to shut down Covingtons wrestle-heavy approach.
And with Buckley able to force Covington into a predominantly stand-up fight, the former middleweight hit him with clean, hard shots to the head and body, with his shots upstairs leaving Covington busted up and bloody, with a nasty cut above his right eye.
That cut drew the attention of the cageside physician between rounds as “Chaos” was warned before the start of the third round that it wouldn’t be allowed to get any worse.
And, as Buckley continued to pour on the pressure in Round 3, referee Dan Miragliotta paused the fight for the doctor to re-check Covington’s eye. The medic then advised that the fight should not continue, and Miragliotta waved off the bout.
Based on how the action was unfolding, it was a merciful stoppage, with Covington very much on the receiving end. The cut itself was far from the worst we’ve seen inside the Octagon, but given the momentum of the contest, it seemed like a decision to spare Covington more unnecessary punishment.
It gave Buckley the biggest win of his career and put him among the division’s top contenders. And, after asking for crowd reactions to potential matchups with former champions Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman, or a title fight with Belal Muhammad, it was the Usman bout that drew the biggest response, and Buckley agreed that facing Usman next would represent a great next step in his career.
As for Covington, it’s hard to see where he goes from here. He’s lost four of his last six, and given the fact he hasn’t registered a victory over an active UFC welterweight since a June 2018 win over Rafael dos Anjos, his status as a ranked UFC welterweight must now be up for question.
Also on the card, there were huge knockout victories for featherweight veteran Cub Swanson and light heavyweight Dustin Jacoby while Manel Kape notched a TKO victory over Bruno Gustavo da Silva.
The main card kicked off with the UFC debut of New Zealand light heavyweight Navajo Stirling, who was taken all 15 minutes by teak tough Florida-based Brit Tuko Tokkos. Stirling had stated his hope for a highlight-reel introduction to the UFC, but had to content himself with a shutout win on the scorecards instead.
Earlier in the night, the preliminary card saw knockouts from Michael Johnson and Joel Alvarez, while Sean Woodson produced an impressive display to earn a TKO finish of Fernando Padilla.
Brazil’s former Oktagon MMA bantamweight champion Felipe Lima notched his second straight UFC win with an impressive unanimous decision win over Miles Johns, and England’s Davey Grant returned from a lengthy hiatus due to neck surgery and claimed a well-earned unanimous decision victory over Ramon Taveras.
UFC Tampa: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Joaquin Buckley def. Colby Covington via TKO (doctor stoppage) – Round 3, 4:42
- Cub Swanson def. Billy Quarantillo via knockout (punch) – Round 3, 1:36
- Manel Kape def. Bruno Gustavo da Silva via TKO (body kick and punches) – 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)
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Michael Johnson def. Ottman Azaitar via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 2:03
- Joel Alvarez def. Drakkar Klose via knockout (flying knee and punches) – Round 1, 2:48
- Sean Woodson def. Fernando Padilla via TKO (punches) – 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)
