Joaquin Buckley extended his UFC welterweight winning streak to six in a row with a dominant TKO victory over three-time UFC welterweight title challenger Colby Covington in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Tampa fight card at Amalie Arena. As for Covington, the former interim UFC champion is in the first losing streak of his career after losing a title advantage to Leon Edwards in December 2023. Covington entered UFC Tampa ranked No. 6 in the official UFC welterweight rankings. while Buckley was ranked No. 9 in the division. Expect Buckley to move up to at least No. 6 based on the results of the UFC Tampa event.

UFC Tampa Results: Covington vs. Buckley Round 1

Buckley entered Saturday’s fight card as the -225 betting favorite against Covington, who was a +185 betting underdog. The betting tip for the contest was that Buckley would win by knockout.

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

Covington has never been known as a striker, and the difference between Covington, who has four knockouts in his career (one of which was a TKO stoppage due to a rib injury), and Buckley, who was knocked out before UFC Tampa 14 .-o.-games was clearly visible early on.

Covington’s strike was designed to stay busy and set up takedown attempts. Meanwhile, Buckley tried to finish the fight with his strength, power and shot selection. The problem for Covington was that he had no answer to Buckley’s strike and his early attempts to take him out were rare and telegraphed.

Not only were Covington’s takedown attempts slow and distinct, but his attempts to move forward and use his striking to gain the clinch were also slow. This approach allowed Buckley to tag and retreat Covington without giving his opponent the positioning he desired.

Buckley mixed his targets and techniques by applying pressure and throwing effective combinations. throughout the entire round. Buckley threw his punches with power but didn’t knock them to the ground, showing that he was ready for a long fight and that while he was going for a goal, he wasn’t aiming for a knockout with every punch. However, he looked for damage and scoring, which he found.

At the end of the first five minutes, Covington’s significant shooting percentage was a measly 19 percent, or 10 for 51, while Buckley was 23 for 55, a fight-low 41 percent. Buckley also left a nasty cut above Covington’s right eye.

UFC Tampa Results: Covington vs. Buckley Round 2

Covington was more active early in the second round, throwing short punches and applying pressure while also trying to drop down to score a takedown. However, his first takedown attempt of the round was ill-advised as Covington shot near the fence. This positioning of Covington’s takedown attempt allowed Buckley to spread out and press Covington against the cage. Buckley’s situational awareness allowed him to score with a knee strike to the body and a series of punches.

After that, Buckley appeared to be more careful with his positioning, doing his best to keep things open while not allowing Covington to get closer and work from the clinch. Buckley also did a great job of training the body with his punches, which seemed to take some of the cardio away from his opponent, who was known for his gas tank and ability to keep attacking for 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 low end, which prevented Covington from getting the short shots he was 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 effectiveness, especially with his jab for the remainder of the second stanza.

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

UFC Tampa Results: Covington vs. Buckley Round 3

Between the second and third rounds, the cageside doctor told referee Dan Miragliotta that she would not allow the fight to continue much longer. The cut Covington suffered in the first round was in a terrible spot, just above Covington’s eye. The referee then told Covington, “You heard her. You must protect this eye.” Miragliotta repeated this warning before starting the action.

To open the third stanza, Covington shot another takedown without preparation, which seemed like a sign of desperation or fatigue. The ex-interim champion paid for his arrogance by having Buckley come in and land body shots before returning to distance fighting, showcasing power, speed and shot selection.

Another failed, sloppy takedown briefly brought Covington to the ground. As the fighters stood up, Buckley held Covington against the cage, firing punches, opening the cut around his eye and trying to finish off his tired and exhausted opponent.

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

With 18 seconds left, after the fighters got back to their feet, Miragliotta called the doctor back into the cage to examine Covington’s eye. She quickly stopped the action and told the referee, “He’s going to lose that eyelid.”

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

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

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

“It was a bad cut, no doubt about it, but this fight won’t be finished in Vegas,” White said at UFC Tampa’s post-fight press conference. “This fight continues in Vegas. 100 percent.”

“Listen, Colby is an older guy who fights every now and then,” White added. “He’s always durable and he’s always tough, like I just said. Did you hear the body shots that hit him tonight? And the headshots he took? That stuff would have stopped other guys. Colby is tough, but I also get the feeling that Colby wasn’t too upset that the fight was stopped by the cut. The cut definitely bothered him.

“He’s obviously still one of the best. What we said about him all night long, he took big shots, stayed there, the cut obviously bothered him, but I also believe that if this fight happens in Vegas, this fight won’t end with this cut. But I don’t think Colby was very upset when it happened (was stopped). It bothered him.”

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

“Listen, if you beat Colby Covington, it’s a big deal,” White said. “Love him or hate him, (Colby Covington is) a dog, (expletive) tough. Took big hits to the body tonight. He delivered big blows to the head that would have knocked out a lot of people. Colby is durable and tough, but if you get hurt anything can happen.”

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

After the UFC Tampa results were read, Buckley called out former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, who is the third-largest UFC fighter at 170 pounds.