UFC Tampa is getting a new main event. Just a couple of weeks ago, it was announced that the December 14th Fight Night would be headlined by Ian Machado Garry and Joaquin Buckley (20-6). However, that’s changed. Dana White announced tonight that Garry would be moving up a week to take on Shavkat Rakhmonov while Joaquin Buckley is getting a new opponent.
White announced that Buckley would be facing former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington (17-4). Covington will be fighting for the first time since he lost to Leon Edwards for the welterweight title last December. This is a huge opportunity for Joaquin Buckley.
UFC Tampa
Starting with New Mansa, after a decent run at middleweight, Buckley made his welterweight debut last May against Andre Fialho. He scored a second round knockout and he was off to the races.
Buckley won his next fight and that led him to a bout against top contender Vicente Luque. That’s where Buckley really opened some eyes as he stopped Luque in the second round. Following that, he got a fight in front of his hometown at UFC St. Louis and he defeated the dangerous contender Nursulton Ruziboev.
Most recently, Buckley took on former title challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson at UFC 307. After a back-and-forth fight, Buckley scored a third round knockout. Now, he’ll take on a former interim champ in Covington.
Covington is just 2-3 in his last five fights and he’s only fought five times since December 2019. That said, all three of his losses came in title fights with two coming against Kamaru Usman and the latest being that defeat to Leon Edwards. Covington hasn’t been active, but when he is, he’s one of the best in the world. This should be a good one for the fans in Tampa.