Covington vs. Buckley: What Did We Learn?

Colby Covington and Joaquin Buckley, UFC Tampa
Colby Covington and Joaquin Buckley, UFC Tampa ceremonial weigh-ins at the Amalie Arena, Dec. 13, 2024 Credit: Jay Anderson/Cageside Press

Former interim champion and two-time undisputed title challenger Colby Covington took on the streaking Joaquin Buckley on Saturday night at UFC Tampa. This was a crossroads fight as the inactive Covington was looking to stay relevant against a rising contender six years his junior.

Covington, who hadn’t looked like his usual self against Leon Edwards in December of 2023, had averaged one fight per year so far this decade. He is known for carefully picking and choosing his fights, favouring matchups with older fighters on their way out like Tyron Woodley and Jorge Masvidal. So naturally, it was a pleasant surprise to see him accept a fight against a relevant, younger contender.

As for Buckley, after making a splash with his highlight-reel KO of Impa Kasanganay back in 2020, he traded wins and losses at middleweight before dropping to welterweight in 2023. He had since gone 5-0 and was looking to follow up his knockout of Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson with a fourth win in 2024.

Covington might have cited injuries as the reason for his lackluster performance against Edwards, but he looked legitimately old here. The athleticism advantage that Buckley benefits from in just about all his fights was especially pronounced, as Covington had nothing for him. He had trouble dealing with Buckley’s variety of strikes and he wasn’t able to push his usual pace.

It was nice to see Covington sign-up this type of matchup, but the fight also showed us that Covington’s age and inactivity has finally started to catch up to him. His time near the top of the division is over, but he still might have enough to win a few fights here and there. But who knows whether or not he will get up for matchups that aren’t marquee main events or on big PPV cards?

On the Buckley side of things, “New Mansa” looked as explosive as ever. He has kept improving every time out since making the move to 170 lbs. He always looked like a relatively small middleweight, so the weight cut doesn’t appear to be a problem, and he looks imposing next to other 170ers.

This has by far been the most productive calendar year for him, going 4-0 with three ranked wins over Vicente Luque, Thompson and now Covington all by knockout. While the name value here is good, it’s still unclear how much those wins will ultimately tell us about his long-term potential in the title picture as he has yet to face a top contender his age. The improvements are noticeable and encouraging, but how much do they mean when matched up against a fellow new generation welterweight?

Only time will tell, but for the time being, Buckley has shown that he is clearly ahead of the current Luques, Thompsons and Covingtons of the world. He has now clearly entered the title picture, and it will be intriguing to see how he fares against the top dogs of the division.