Joaquin Buckley is aiming to not only capture his sixth-straight win in the UFC’s welterweight division later tonight (Sat., Dec. 14, 2024) at UFC Tampa LIVE on ESPN2/ESPN+ from inside Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., but he’ll try to send former title challenger Colby Covington into retirement.
Tonight’s main event matchup came together pretty quickly, but it still provides Buckley with the chance to earn the biggest win of his career and cap off an incredible 2024 campaign that has already seen him go 3-0 at 170 pounds. This includes a spectacular knockout finish over Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson this past October.
Surprisingly, Buckley is a sizeable betting favorite against Covington for UFC’s final event of the calendar year. The heavy-hitting knockout artist has certainly been on a roll, but dealing with the wrestling and pressure of “Chaos” is no easy task.
On Friday, Buckley got one final look at Covington before taking to the microphone and promising to put an end to his opponent’s career on Saturday night. Check it out below:
? “We’re going to retire him and send his ass off to Twitch!”
Joaquin Buckley with some final words for Colby Covington #UFCTampa pic.twitter.com/ouLWjnbBbq
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) December 13, 2024
“Look, this dude been quiet, he plays a character, now he wants to be soft with it. So at the end of the day man, we’re going to go out in that cage bro, we’re going to retire this man and send his ass off to Twitch. Let’s get it.”
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Tampa fight card right here, starting with the ESPN2/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN2/ESPN+).
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Tampa: “Covington vs. Buckley” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.