Author: Dan Hiergesell

UFC officials promised a memorable end-of-year walkout Saturday night (Dec. 14, 2024) at UFC Tampa LIVE on ESPN2/ESPN+ from inside Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., and it did not disappoint as Colby Covington was escorted to the Octagon by none other than Hulk Hogan. Covington was headlining the event in a five-round showdown with welterweight contender Joaquin Buckley.

Earlier this week, UFC commentator Brendan Fitzgerald teased a unique walkout for UFC Tampa’s main event and urged fight fans to catch every second of it. Some were left wondering if President-elect Donald Trump would make one more UFC event appearance and usher “Chaos” to the cage. It seemed unlikely, but nobody knew for sure what was going to happen during Covington’s final walkout of 2024.

“We always manage to top ourselves each year,” said Fitzgerald earlier this week. “For the first time in a while, I’m like ‘what are we going do in 2025 to outdo [UFC 300] and The Sphere?’ I don’t know. We’re going to try and I’m sure we’ll think of something …

“Don’t miss the Colby walkout. That’s all I’m going to say. It’s going to be a moment, going to be fun.”

To much surprise, Covington was joined by Hogan and even came out to Hogan’s legendary WWE theme song. Whether you like Covington or not, this was a pretty epic moment to close out the last show of the year. Covington has walked out to Kurt Angle’s “You Suck” theme song before, but coming to the Octagon with Hulk Hogan by his side is on an entirely new level.

Check out the epic walkout in the above video player and more footage below:

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For complete UFC Tampa results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.

If Cub Swanson’s final MMA fight was last night (Sat., Dec. 14, 2024) at UFC Tampa LIVE on ESPN2/ESPN+ from inside Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., then it was the perfect way to go out.

Swanson, who turned 41 this past November, has been competing under the UFC banner for 13 years. The veteran fighter was fighting for the love of the sport on Saturday night and to prove he still belongs inside of the Octagon. After last weekend’s duds by mainstay veterans Chris Weidman, Anthony Smith, and Clay Guida, Swanson was fighting an uphill battle at UFC Tampa.

Fortunately, Swanson’s 41-year-old chin held up against a high-volume fighter in Quarantillo. The two featherweights would exchange punches and kicks in bunches and had each other hurt at different times of the fight. Quarantillo appeared to have a little more gas left in the tank down the stretch, but Swanson just needed one shot to turn the momentum back in his favor.

That moment came just over one minute into the third round when Swanson made his move and launched a perfectly-timed right hand. It crashed into Quarantillo and instantly put him out. Quarantillo fell backwards onto the canvas and sprawled out. It was a tremendous finish by Swanson, who hinted at potential retirement during his post-fight speech.

Check out the video highlights below:

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For complete UFC Tampa results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.

Manel Kape may have earned himself a UFC flyweight title shot last night (Sat., Dec. 14, 2024) at UFC Tampa LIVE on ESPN2/ESPN+ from inside Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., stopping streaking finisher Bruno Silva with a nasty third-round TKO (body kick and punches).

Kape came into this flyweight clash a pretty large betting favorite. The former RIZIN bantamweight champion hasn’t completely lived up to his hype since entering UFC back in 2021 so Saturday’s high-profile tilt against Silva was a perfect opportunity for “Starboy” to finally cash in.

Unfortunately for Kape, he had to eat multiple low blows at the hands of Silva, who was eventually deducted a point. When he wasn’t getting kicked in the nuts Kape was picking Silva apart on the feet and dancing around the Octagon to remain elusive. Silva is a gamer through and through so he ate almost every shot Kape was able to dish out, but things eventually had to come to an end.

In the third round, Kape was able to land a brutal body kick (which may have glanced Silva’s groin) and then proceeded to unload heavy punches to the body and head. Silva covered up along the cage and had little to offer in response. The referee stepped in to save him and Kape walked off with the TKO victory.

Check out the video highlights below:

Kape, who lost a decision to former UFC fighter Muhammad Mokaev back in July, came into Saturday’s contest believing he was one big performance away from earning a UFC title shot against current flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja. With this victory over Silva and his resume under RIZIN, Kape could very well be the next challenger for the champ.

After his victory, Kape called out Pantoja and explained how nobody in the flyweight division does it like him. Check it out below:

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For complete UFC Tampa results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.

With UFC Tampa in the books after an exciting night (Sat., Dec. 14, 2024) of fights live on ESPN2/ESPN+ from inside Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., fight fans can now check out the post-fight press conference video above for all the best reaction and official bonus winners.

On a night that featured a welterweight main event between three-time UFC title challenger Colby Covington and streaking contender Joaquin Buckley, a co-headliner involving fan favorites Cub Swanson and Billy Quarantillo, and Octagon returns by the likes of Manel Kape, Adrian Yanez, Joel Alvarez, and Felipe Lima, there will be a lot to discuss now that the action has concluded.

The post-fight presser is scheduled to go LIVE in the above video player around 1:00 a.m. ET (Sunday). It will feature the biggest winners and losers from the card, as well as UFC CEO Dana White.

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For complete UFC Tampa results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.

Eddie Hall lost his arm wrestling debut opposite fellow strongman Brian Shaw on Saturday night (Dec. 14, 2024) at King of the Table 13 from inside Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, dropping a best of seven supermatch 2-4.

Hall, who set a world record back in 2016 by deadlifting 1,102 pounds, also won the 2017 World’s Strongest Man title. He ultimately stepped away from strongman competition back in 2018 due to health issues and turned to combat sports. “The Beast” made his boxing debut against Hafthor “The Mountain” Bjornsson in 2022 and looked like a solid puncher, but he ended up losing with a wild comeback (watch HERE).

On Saturday, Hall took to the table opposite a strongman legend in Shaw, who won the 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2016 World’s Strongest Man competitions. Unfortunately for Hall, Shaw was able to channel his past dominance and made his own arm wrestling debut a moment to remember.

Hall started off with the first round victory, but Shaw fired back to win the next two. “The Beast” returned to form in the fourth to even the contest 2-2. That’s when Shaw took over and used his legendary strength to put Hall away. He even yelled “fight me” when he made the final pin to earn the 4-2 victory.

Check out the video highlights below:

Hall, who will certainly want another crack at arm wrestling, is currently expected to make his mixed martial arts (MMA) debut early next year against former Polish strongman and KSW legend Mariusz Pudzianowski. It will be interesting to see how Hall performs in a real fight with a real fighter with only a few months to train.

Michael Johnson turned back the clock earlier tonight (Sat., Dec. 14, 2024) at UFC Tampa LIVE on ESPN2/ESPN+ from inside Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., when “Menace” obliterated fellow lightweight Ottman Azaitar with a ridiculous second-round knockout (punch). It was the first knockout finish for Johnson since a stoppage over Alan Patrick back in May 2022.

Despite being 38 years of age, Johnson entered this “Prelims” headliner against Azaitar as the betting favorite. He showed early on why the oddsmakers trusted him to take care of business on Saturday night by tagging Azaitar and keeping him at bay. “Menace” just seemed to possess more power when his shots connected.

Azaitar came out more aggressive in the second round and quickly pressed the action with a fiery exchange inside. “The Bulldozer” landed a nice left hand, but while the fists were flying Johnson connected on an insane right hook that instantly put Azaitar down for the count. Unfortunately for him, Johnson was in position to uncork two violent punches on the ground before the referee made it over.

Check out the video highlights in the above player.

Johnson, who was coming off a decision win over Darrius Flowers his last time out, now has his first UFC win streak since 2018. The veteran lightweight clearly has some gas left in the tank and made it a point to tell UFC brass that he intends to stick around for a long time during his post-fight interview.

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For complete UFC Tampa results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.