Colby Covington vs. Joaquin Buckley UFC
Colby Covington, 17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC, makes a surprising return to the octagon of the UFC as he steps into the UFC Tampa headliner at UFC on ESPN 63. Initially, Covington was planning on calling Hunter Campbell to discuss a fight against rising welterweight star Shavkat Rakhmonov, but the promotion had other plans. Instead, the 36-year-old will meet Joaquin Buckley (20-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) in a highly anticipated five-round welterweight headliner on Dec. 14 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
This fight was announced by UFC President Dana White, who announced that Covington would take the place of Ian Machado Garry, who will face Rakhmonov a week later. Covington last competed in a title bout against Leon Edwards in December, where he lost by way of unanimous decision. It was his third unsuccessful bid for a title, and he sits at a 1-2 record in his last three.
Meanwhile, Buckley-30-is hot to trot at six in a row. His last win came this October when he knocked out Stephen Thompson, a performance that booked him into the UFC Tampa main event. It is Buckley's first promotional main event appearance, further sweetening the already stacked UFC on ESPN 63 fight card.
The entire UFC on ESPN 63 card now reads as follows:
- Joaquin Buckley vs. Colby Covington - Main Event
- Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas
- Dustin Jacoby vs. Vitor Petrino
- Jamey-Lyn Horth vs. Miranda Maverick
- Joel Alvarez vs. Drakkar Klose
- Josefine Knutsson vs. Piera Rodriguez
- Navajo Stirling vs. Tuco Tokkos
- Davey Grant vs. Ramon Taveras
- Manel Kape vs. Bruno Silva
- Ottman Azaitar vs. Michael Johnson
- Daniel Marcos vs. Adrian Yanez
- Fernando Padilla vs. Sean Woodson
- Miles Johns vs. Felipe Lima
The welterweight contest between Colby Covington vs. Joaquin Buckley is truly expected to provide fireworks, given that Colby has a history of challenging for titles and Buckley has risen extremely fast through the ranks. Can Covington claw his way back into title contention, or will Buckley push his winning streak to continue inside the UFC Tampa headliner? Continue to watch for further updates as this fight gets closer to the competition date and follow along with UFC on ESPN 63 for more electrifying match-ups!