Highlights! Covington Nearly Loses Eyelid In Bloody Loss

Joaquin Buckley may not have earned the decisive stoppage he wanted last night (Sat., Dec. 14, 2024) at UFC Tampa LIVE on ESPN2/ESPN+ from inside Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., but the welterweight contender still fought hard to defeat former title challenger Colby Covington in the final main event of the year.

Buckley had his way in the first round and really busted Covington up. A short right hand during an exchange inside formed a cut right below Covington’s right eyebrow. It caused some discomfort for the former title challenger and left him bloody after just a few minutes of action.

Luckily for Covington, he was able to utilize his wrestling in the second round to gain some valuable top time and keep the powerful Buckley off his feet. “Chaos” was able to score some clean shots as well once Buckley was able to get off his back. Covington’s luck would run out, though, as Buckley defended his takedowns in the third round and bloodied him pretty badly. The referee was worried about the cut above Covington’s eye, but was going to give him the rest of the round.

With just a handful of seconds left in the third round the referee paused the action and brough the doctor into the Octagon to take a closer look at “Chaos.” Covington’s face was painted red and the doctor could be heard saying, “He’s going to lose his eyelid.” The fight was waved off and Buckley walked away with his sixth-straight win at 170 pounds.

Check out the video highlights and some bloody photos below:

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

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