“Chaos” is headed to Tampa next month, as Colby Covington is stepping into the UFC Tampa main event.
On Friday, UFC CEO and President Dana White announced that Ian Machado Garry had been shifted to UFC 310, to face Shavkat Rakhmonov in a welterweight number one contender’s fight. The move was necessitated when champ Belal Muhammad pulled out of the card.
That left UFC Tampa, originally headlined by Garry vs. Joaquin Buckley, in need of a new main event. Enter Covington. White confirmed “Chaos” vs. “Newmansa” on Friday as well.
Covington (17-4) was last seen in a listless losing effort against then-champ Leon Edwards at UFC 296 in December 2023. That setback was the third loss for Covington, a former interim champ, in an attempt to claim undisputed welterweight gold in the UFC.
Buckley (20-6) has won five straight fights, and is coming off a Performance of the Night-winning effort against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in October. Owner of the 2020 Knockout of the Year, Buckley has found a new lease on his fighting life since making the drop to 170lbs.
Covington is currently ranked at #6 in the welterweight division, and Buckley sits at #9 in the promotion’s official rankings.
With the change in main events, UFC Tampa on December 14, 2024 at the Amalie Arena now breaks down as follows:
- Colby Covington vs. Joaquin Buckley
- Amanda Ribas vs. Mackenzie Dern
- Cub Swanson vs. Billy Quarantillo
- Michael Johnson vs. Ottman Azaitar
- Joel Álvarez vs. Drakkar Klose
- Vitor Petrino vs. Dustin Jacoby
- Manel Kape vs. Bruno Gustavo da Silva
- Adrian Yañez vs. Daniel Marcos
- Davey Grant vs. Ramon Taveras
- Josefine Lindgren Knutsson vs. Piera Rodriguez
- Navajo Stirling vs. Tuco Tokkos
- Sean Woodson vs. Fernando Padilla
- Miranda Maverick vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth
- Miles Johns vs. Felipe Lima
