‘Colby Can’t Afford Corner Men’

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Earlier tonight (Sat., Dec. 14, 2024), Colby Covington vs. Joaquin Buckley faced off in the main event of UFC Tampa, which took place inside Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. In a brutal beat…


UFC Fight Night: Covington v Buckley
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Earlier tonight (Sat., Dec. 14, 2024), Colby Covington vs. Joaquin Buckley faced off in the main event of UFC Tampa, which took place inside Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. In a brutal beatdown, Buckley smashed Covington’s face to pieces and forced a doctor stoppage.

Very little of the fight went well for “Chaos.” The veteran couldn’t get his wrestling going and was forced to stand with Buckley. From the jump, Buckley used his speed advantage to do serious damage. He split Covington’s eye open with an uppercut, pounded at his body with hooks, and even attacked the leg with side kicks and calf strikes.

On a couple occasions, Covington managed to force his way into top position. Even then, he wasn’t able to build towards a dominant position or do any damage. Instead, Buckley was able to work up in fairly short fashion and go back to pulverizing the former title challenger.

At least as interesting as the fight itself was the unexpected appearance of WWE legend Hulk Hogan, BROTHER! Rumors swelled around Covington’s walkout and how it was an event not-to-be-missed. Hogan turned out to be the surprise, helping “Chaos” make his way to the cage. One wonders if they met on Trump Force One? Covington’s walkout was complete with a shirt rip moment and Hogan’s “Real American” walkout song. Oh, and Chael Sonnen was there too!

Either way, it was quite a scene in “The Big Guava” and the fighting community online was split on whether it was amusing or stupid. Check out some of the social media reaction below:


For complete UFC Tampa results and play-by-play, click here.