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Henry Cejudo: ‘Predictable’ Colby Covington Could Get Stopped By Joaquin Buckley

Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo can envision Colby Covington falling to a losing skid courtesy of Joaquin Buckley next month. Covington is set to make his return to the Octagon a year on from his third failed bid at achieving undisputed champion status on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage. After two setbacks opposite Kamaru […]

Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo can envision Colby Covington falling to a losing skid courtesy of Joaquin Buckley next month.

Covington is set to make his return to the Octagon a year on from his third failed bid at achieving undisputed champion status on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage.

After two setbacks opposite Kamaru Usman, the former interim titleholder most recently fell short against Leon Edwards in the main event of UFC 296. In the eyes of many, that loss marked the likely end of his pursuit of the welterweight mountaintop.

“Chaos,” however, sees things differently. He’s vowed throughout the year to bounce back, secure another opportunity, and be crowned kingpin. And his first step toward that comes in a late-notice showdown with Buckley in Tampa.

Covington is set to headline a UFC Fight Night close to home on Dec. 14, marking the final fight inside the Octagon of 2024. That was originally set be between Ian Garry and Buckley, but after the Irishman was drafted in to fight Shavkat Rakhnmonov at UFC 310 a week prior, Covington has stepped in to meet “New Mansa.”

During an episode of his Pound 4 Pound podcast alongside fellow former UFC champion Usman, Cejudo commented on the new pairing set to close the show inside Amalie Arena.

“Triple C” gave a disparaging assessment of Covington’s current game, suggesting that the “predictable” nature of it could lead to a knockout loss at the hands of the powerful Buckley.

“The style that Colby Covington is doing is so predictable now,” Cejudo said. “The fact that they see him lose time and time again, whether it’s with Leon Edwards or yourself (Usman), it’s there. Once you stop Colby’s takedowns, things will fall into place.

“Look at how Joaquin covers distance, bro. Double feints, dipping in to eventually stop a dude like ‘Wonderboy.’ So, I’m high on this kid. This kid is dangerous,” Cejudo continued. “I can see Colby Covington losing via stoppage to a guy like Joaquin Buckley, and I truly do believe that.”

Buckley, the #9-ranked contender who is coming off a knockout win over Stephen Thompson, will look to prove Cejudo right by becoming only the second man to stop Covington with strikes after “Triple C’s” podcast co-host, Usman.

Read More: Colby Covington: ‘Weight Bully’ Makhachev’s Champ-Champ Plans ‘All Talk’ Like Khabib

UFC Analyst Believes Colby Covington Was Pushed Into Buckley Fight: ‘You Got To Step Up!’

Following the major reshuffling of the cards that took place at welterweight, the former interim champion Colby Covington is set to return next month to face Joaquin Buckley in the main event of UFC Tampa. “Chaos” replaced Ian Machado Garry who in turn, replaced Belal Muhammad in order to face Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310. […]

“Chaos” replaced Ian Machado Garry who in turn, replaced Belal Muhammad in order to face Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310. Covington and Garry have been going back-and-forth at several points throughout the year with the Irishman accusing, both before and after this fight was announced, the #6-ranked contender of ducking him.

In three of Covington’s last five appearances inside the Octagon, three of them have been in welterweight title fights. He rebounded from both losses to Kamaru Usman by beating Tyron Woodley and Jorge Masvidal before challenging Leon Edwards in his latest outing at UFC 296 last year where he was convincingly beaten over five rounds.

Some fans weren’t happy to see Covington got the title shot against Edwards having not fought since his win over Masvidal in March of 2022 and that only increased following his disappointing performance against “Rocky”. When UFC analyst and fellow welterweight Michael Chiesa broke down this fight in an interview with Sportskeeda, he said that Buckley’s hunger is what wins him this fight.

Chiesa believes that Covington was likely persuaded to take this fight by the UFC rather than it being an opportunity that he was biting their hand off for.

“Buck, Buck all day. I think Joaquin Buckley is an incredible athlete, tremendous power, very, very hungry and that is the most important part in this match-up between Colby and Joaquin. Buckley is war more hungry than Colby Covington, I can tell you that much, like Buckley is chomping at the bit to fight anybody and everybody.

“I think that Colby, I don’t know, I have a feeling, I haven’t heard anything but I have a feeling that the UFC was like, ‘You have to take this fight. At some point, you got to step up.’ I know you kind of got to sweeten the pot with Colby to get him into the Octagon and get him competing but it’s got to the point where it’s like you fought for the title three times, you don’t get the extra flavor to your dish for taking a fight. It’s like you have to just start fighting if you want to get to a title. You can’t have any guarantees.”

Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Ian Garry Official For UFC 310, Colby Covington Fills vs. Buckley

After a toe infection to Belal Muhammad forced the UFC welterweight champion out of UFC 310, the Dec. 7 card now has an answer to who will be headlining. Per an announcement from UFC CEO Dana White that dropped during Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, intended title challenger Shavkat Rakhmonov will no longer be competing […]

After a toe infection to Belal Muhammad forced the UFC welterweight champion out of UFC 310, the Dec. 7 card now has an answer to who will be headlining.

Per an announcement from UFC CEO Dana White that dropped during Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, intended title challenger Shavkat Rakhmonov will no longer be competing in the main event of UFC 310.

Tha Kazakh star has instead been moved to the co-main event slot and will face fellow undefeated contender Ian Garry in a five-round, non-title fight.

The UFC flyweight championship match between champion Alexandre Pantoja and his latest challenger, debutant Kai Asakura, has been promoted to the new UFC 310 main event.

Furthermore, as a result of Garry competing at UFC 310, Colby Covington will be filling in for him in the UFC Tampa main event on Dec. 14 against the Irishman’s originally booked opponent, Joaquin Buckley.

Garry Replaces Muhammad In UFC 310 Bout vs. Rakhmonov, Pantoja vs. Asakura Promoted To Main Event

Rakhmonov became next in line for the welterweight title after his finish of Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, as well as Muhammad’s title win against Leon Edwards at UFC 304. But “Nomad” will now have to put his shot on the line in a matchup with Garry.

The Irish rising star has fought twice in 2024, earning decision wins over Geoff Neal in February and Michael “Venom” Page four months later.

Garry and Covington, meanwhile, had been linked to face one another over the course of the last year due to intense hatred between the two seen across social media. “Chaos,” however, has previously stated that he does not feel “The Future” deserves a fight with him.

Covington is also on the outside looking in of the welterweight title picture, having not fought since his own disappointing outing against Edwards at UFC 296 last year.

Buckley, on the other hand, has won five straight, most recently knocking out “Wonderboy” at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City just last month.

Read More: Conor McGregor, Ryan Garcia, & Others React As Paul Comfortably Beats 58-Year-Old Mike Tyson On Netflix

Cub Swanson Reveals Motivation After Signing New UFC Deal At 41

On December 14 in Tampa, Cub Swanson will look to make his 25th appearance inside the Octagon after debuting with the promotion all the way back in 2011. Having alternated wins and losses for the past few years, he’s looking to bounce back against Billy Quarantillo in a very fan-friendly match-up. Swanson spoke in a […]

Swanson spoke in a recent interview with MMA Junkie about how he’s taking each fight one at a time at 41-years old. He announced that this bout will be the first of a newly-signed four-fight deal that he believes will take him up to the end of his career.

“It’s fight by fight but this would have been my last one so I told them I didn’t intend on fighting out of my contract and going to other places, I want to stay here. I think it’s fitting and so yeah, we did a new deal.”

When asked about his motivation to continue competing at this stage, Swanson said that though he now has to balance being a fighter with his other work commitments and family life, it’s his kids that inspire him to keep going. “Killer” Cub is focused on supporting his family but he also wants them to have memories that wouldn’t exist if he’d already hung up his gloves.

This motivation comes from a deep and emotional place for Swanson based on the experiences he had in regards to his late father. He opened up about this during the interview and explained how this has shaped the later stages of his UFC run.

“My father passed away when I was a baby so I grew up people telling me stories about my dad and I was always like, ‘Okay, thank you,’ but it’s like somebody I never met so it was a little strange. So I did all these cool things and then towards the end of my career I had kids and then they were babies and I’m like man, I don’t want them to hear stories about me and not remember it so then it became a motivation for me to want to do it long enough so they would remember and say, ‘Yeah, I remember my dad doing that, that’s pretty cool.’ So that became my motivation so it was really important for me.”

UFC Matchmaking Bulletin: Miles Johns Rebooked For Tampa After Garbrandt Cancellation

MMA News has you covered with this week’s UFC matchmaking bulletin, featuring all the additions to upcoming cards. With events being held most weekends, Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby have their matchmaking work cut out if they’re to fill them, meaning new bouts are confirmed each and every week. Between Monday, November 4, and Sunday, November […]

Continue Reading UFC Matchmaking Bulletin: Miles Johns Rebooked For Tampa After Garbrandt Cancellation at MMA News.

MMA News has you covered with this week’s UFC matchmaking bulletin, featuring all the additions to upcoming cards.

With events being held most weekends, Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby have their matchmaking work cut out if they’re to fill them, meaning new bouts are confirmed each and every week.

Between Monday, November 4, and Sunday, November 10, a number of fights were made official by the UFC or reported by reputable sources. For those matchups, check out the list below:

But it wasn’t all positive, with three fights falling through or being adjusted. For those, see below:

Continue Reading UFC Matchmaking Bulletin: Miles Johns Rebooked For Tampa After Garbrandt Cancellation at MMA News.

Tracy Cortez Sets the Record Straight on UFC Tampa Cancellation Due to Surgery Needs

Tracy Cortez is setting the record straight regarding her recent withdrawal from UFC Tampa on December 14. Earlier this…

Tracy Cortez is setting the record straight regarding her recent withdrawal from UFC Tampa on December 14.

Earlier this week, reports revealed that Cortez was out of her bout with Miranda Maverick due to an undisclosed injury. Taking to X, the 11-2 fighter out of Phoenix confirmed that she would not be competing next month and will be undergoing surgery to address health issues.

“Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication with me fighting Dec 14th in Tampa, as I informed the UFC weeks ago that I wont be able to fight in December due to health issues that requires me to have surgery,” Cortez wrote on X. “I look forward to getting back in the cage early next year! Thank you to everyone who has reached out.”

This is the second time that Cortez’s fight with Maverick has been scrapped, the first coming in July when Cortez was instead rebooked to fight former two-time strawweight champion ‘Thug’ Rose Namajunas a week earlier. Cortez came up short that night and was looking to bounce back against Maverick after suffering her second career loss.

With Tracy Cortez’s Withdrawal, Miranda Maverick will now fight jamey-lyn Horth

Maverick will stay on the card and is expected to face Canada’s Jamey-Lyn Horth at the event. Marcel Dorff was the first to report the change on social media.

Horth will be making her fourth appearance inside the Octagon after going 2-1 in her first three appearances. Horth has earned victories over Hailey Cowan and Ivana Petrovi? with a loss to Veronica Hardy in between. Overall, Horth is 7-1 in MMA.