Former UFC welterweight title challenger, Colby Covington, returns to MMA action opposite red-hot 170-pound contender, Joaquin Buckley, atop the UFC Tampa fight card on Sat. night (Dec. 14, 2024) at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
Covington (17-4) has only competed five times over the last five years, putting together a 2-3 record during that span. In fact, the 36 year-old “Chaos” has not beaten anyone currently signed to the active UFC roster since out-wrestling Rafael dos Anjos back in June 2018.
“I think Buckley has the best momentum right now, but (wrestling is) Buckley’s kryptonite,” former welterweight title challenger, Gilbert Burns, told Submission Radio (transcribed by Farah Hannoun). “One of my favorite teammates is Logan Storley, he was the interim Bellator champ, he fought Buckley, and Logan just outwrestled him. He just took him down, beat him up with ground-and-pound, took him down again, beat him up with ground-and-pound. Destroyed him with ground-and-pound, and that’s something that Colby really can do.”
Buckley, who turned 30 back in April, improved to 20-6 with his stunning, second-round knockout over former welterweight title challenger, Stephen Thompson, as part of the UFC 307 lineup last October, his fifth straight victory dating back to late 2022.
“Colby’s always training,” Burns continued. “I know those guys from MMA Masters, Daniel Valverde and Cesar Carneiro, they say that he’s always in the gym. The guy is always training, he’s always in shape. I think Colby might give a lot of problems to Buckley, keep taking him down with that crazy pace. Buckley’s a big guy with a lot of muscle. If Buckley cannot put Colby out of there in the first or the second round, I think Colby will overwhelm him and beat him up. Colby can get maybe a dominant decision win, or Buckley can get a quick knockout in the first or in the second round.”
We’ll find out this weekend in “The Sunshine State.”