“Chaos” has spent years honing his MAGA-loving gimmick and has met with U.S. President Donald Trump in the past, which made him seem like a shoo-in to compete at the first ever professional sporting event to be held on White House grounds. Considering the entire card is pretty much cronyism at its finest, Covington’s absence was a bit of a surprise when the event’s full line-up was announced last weekend.

It seems Covington is as surprised as anyone.

The post Covington Irked by White House Snub, Agrees to Fight Burns-Malott Winner appeared first on Cageside Press.

Specifically a 15-pound change.

“Honestly, 185 is intriguing. I think it would be kind of cool to go up there with the narrative like, ‘Oh, this guy’s a small 170. He’s going to go up to 185 and take on an even bigger challenge.’ So there is a possibility,” Covington told Submission Radio.

“I’m always looking for the biggest and best fights. So we’ll see.”

Covington (17-5) hasn’t been the most active welterweight in the past few years. Ever since losing his first title challenge against then-champ Kamaru Usman he’s only fought once per year. He’s gone 2-3 since 2020 including a second title challenge against Leon Edwards which he lost.

So now he’s looking at middleweight and targeting a former champion.

“Guys like Whittaker became champion, a guy like Sean Strickland became a champion. They leave welterweight where these guys are fast. They’ve got good cardio. These are the best athletes on the planet in this weight class. So they go up and they have so much success at middleweight because the middleweights are un-athletic. They’re slow. So there is something to be said with that,” he said.

He said he wants a bout with “cardio fighter” Strickland.

“Sean Strickland fights, always interesting. He’s had his things to say about me in the past, I don’t think he’s anything special. He’s got a jab, he’s got a front kick. But besides that, you shut those those weapons down and he’s very limited. He’s a cardio fighter. He’s just a cardio kickboxer, essentially,” Covington said.

“So I don’t think I don’t see any threats out of Sean Strickland. It’s an entertaining fight that I might entertain in the future.”

The post Colby Covington Contemplating 185, Targets Strickland appeared first on Cageside Press.

Covington suffered a nasty cut in the first round against Joaquin Buckley in the main event of UFC Tampa. The cut was pretty bad to begin with but only got worse as the fight went on and Buckley continued to target it.

The fight was stopped in the first round after the ref called the doctor in and decided to call the fight.

“He’s busted open so bad the doctor has to look at it three times. Twice he stops the action to let it keep going. The third time he said ‘we can’t go anymore’. I was going to stop that fight,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel.

“I already grabbed the towel. When the doctor came in for the third time, and I’m watching the blood, it’s not stopping. It is going into the eye.”

For someone like Sonnen to be willing to throw the towel in is very telling. MMA fighters in large part would rather get finished than have their corners call it quits.

“When we as fight fans, we as tough guys, think the doctor should have stopped it, we’re talking about it doesn’t really matter how bad the cut is from our perspective as long as it’s not going in the eye. If it’s blinding a guy, it doesn’t matter if it’s a little or a lot, if it’s in his eye, and he can no longer see out of that eye, it’s the same thing,” he said.

“This was bad. This was in the eye. I literally stood up so I could see what the doctor was doing. I told Charlie, the No. 2, I said ‘hand me that towel, I’m stopping this.’ I bring that to you because the referee was taking some criticism. Well, let me be fair here, I saw what they saw.”

Both Covington and UFC CEO Dana White came out and said the fight would not have been stopped if it took place in Las Vegas which, to be fair, isn’t for sure.

Regardless of the result Sonnen had plenty of positives to say about Covington.

“When you look at the grit-meter, this was one of Colby’s best fights,” he said.

“When you look at the digging deep, this does not replace the fight with Kamaru Usman but g*ddamn, it’s right there. When you look at grit, you look at the shots that he took, you look at the damage that they did, he did not care.”

Watch the entire video here.

The post Chael Sonnen Claims He Was Going To Throw Towel For Covington appeared first on Cageside Press.

Heading into 2025, where will the losing side of the card go? Let’s do a little matchmaking.

Colby Covington

Joaquin Buckley styled on Colby Covington for three rounds in the main event of UFC Tampa before the fight was stopped due to a cut above Colby’s eye. Covington entered the fight ranked generously at #6 in the welterweight division while Buckley was ranked at #9. Covington has now lost three of his last four fights and not competed more than once in a calendar year since 2019.

That should likely be it for Covington with favorable fights at the top of the division. Colby should draw someone outside of the top 10 if not someone of the fringe of being ranked. A matchup with Stephen Thompson would fit the bill perfectly. Wonderboy has also lost three of his last four fights and is currently ranked at #11. Stephen’s last fight was also against Buckley, and he was also stopped, back in October. Classic striker versus grappler matchup for two aging former welterweight title contenders. The winner of that fight would be in a position to call for what they wanted, within reason, maybe a crack at the top ten.

Colby’s next fight: Stephen Thompson 

Billy Quarantillo

Billy Quarantillo put up a gutsy performance before getting starched late in the final round of his fight with Cub Swanson. The barn burner of a fight won Fight of the Night honors, which is rare for a fight that didn’t go the distance.

Quarantillo looked good until he didn’t, and it was a fun fight, so the loss doesn’t hurt his stock too much. However, Billy has lost three of his last four fights all by stoppage.

Moving forward, Billy Q. should fight Gabriel Miranda in his next fight. Miranda and Quarantillo were scheduled to fight each other in March before Miranda withdrew. Gabriel went on to fight Morgan Charriere on UFC Paris main card in September. Charriere would earn a performance bonus that night for his KO of Miranda. So let’s rebook two fighters brutally stopped in their last fights, that are almost always in exciting fights that often don’t go the distance.

Billy’s next fight: Gabriel Miranda

Bruno Silva

Bruno Silva was outclassed by Manel Kape in a three round fight at UFC Tampa that saw him stopped in the final round. Silva put up a gutsy performance, but it definitely marked the arrival of one Manel Kape. Bruno entered the fight ranked at #12 in the UFC’s flyweight division while his opponent was ranked at #9.

Silva should get some another striking heavy matchup in his next bout. #15 ranked Joshua Van would be a perfect fight for Silva. Van is 5-1 in the UFC so far only having lost to Charles Johnson in July. Joshua fought at UFC 310 and secured one of the biggest victories of his career via a unanimous decision over Cody Durden. Known for his powerful boxing and aggressive style, Joshua Van would make a perfect opponent for Silva in his next bout.

Bruno’s next fight: Joshua Van

Vitor Petrino

Vitor Petrino suffered another horrible loss on Saturday night when Dustin Jacoby flatlined him late in their fight. Petrino has now been finished twice in a row after Anthony Smith choked him out back in May. To make matters even worse, Petrino is now even farther away from a ranking, and this is the first time he’s ever been KO’d.

Petrino’s next fight should be against the winner of Ibo Aslan vs. Ion Cutelaba. That fight is slated to go down on February 22, 2025. Cutelaba is a tenured UFC vet that has won two of his last three following a three-fight skid. Aslan is a 2023 Contender Series product who is 14-1 as a pro and 2-0 in the UFC. He has finished both his opponents including undefeated, Raffael Cerqueira in his last fight at UFC 308. Either fighter would be a dangerous matchup for Petrino and a fun striking bout to watch for fans. And the winner of the bout would maybe be a fight away from being ranked especially if it ends in a stoppage.

Vitor’s next fight: Ibo Aslan vs. Ion Cutelaba winner

Adrian Yanez

Adrian Yanez dropped a close split decision to the undefeated Daniel Marcos on the main card of UFC Tampa on Saturday. Yanez and Marcos put on a stellar performance but ultimately Adrian was on the wrong side of the decision. Yanez has now lost three of his last four fights. It’s been a tough stretch for the 2020 Contender Series product who got off to a hot start with the promotion, scoring five wins and bonus in his first five appearances.

Yanez is no longer ranked, and unfortunately for him, this loss puts him further away from being such. Adrian should fight Ricky Simon in his next bout. Ricky has three of his last four fights. Simon was last in the cage opposite of Vinicius Oliveira on UFC 303 in June. Simon is a tall task as he is durable and always brings a solid gameplan to his fights. Yanez was close to winning against Marcos and thanks to his exciting fight style and potential, he’s a fighter that should get more than one chance at moving up.

Adrian’s next fight: Ricky Simon

Tuco Tokkos

Tuco Tokkos was defeated via unanimous decision by the undefeated Navajo Stirling to kick off the UFC Tampa main card. Tokkos lost his UFC debut to Oumar Sy in May when he was submitted by rear naked choke in the first round. Even though light heavyweight is shallow in the UFC, Tuco needs a win desperately in his next fight.

Tuco should next fight the loser of Magomed Gadzhiyasulov vs. Bruno Lopes. That fight goes down on January the 11, the first UFC card of 2025. Magomed is an undefeated 9-0, 2023 Contender Series product. Gadzhiyasulov fought Brendson Ribeiro to a majority draw in his promotional debut back in June. Bruno Lopes is 11-1 is a two-time Contender Series fighter. Lopes lost toe Brendson Ribeiro in his first DWCS bout before winning and securing a victory in this past season against Mikheil Sazhiniani. All three of these guys have around the same number of fights and experience levels. The loser of that fight would definitely be in jeopardy of getting cut or fighting for their spot on the roster.

Tuco’s next fight: Loser of Magomed Gadzhiyasulov vs. Bruno Lopes

The post What’s Next: UFC Tampa Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

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.

The post Covington vs. Buckley: What Did We Learn? appeared first on Cageside Press.

Covington was stepping in to replace Ian Machado Garry, who had shifted to UFC 310 last week in a fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov. With Covington, came his usual brand of “Chaos,” a nickname that he has grown into thanks to the deluge of trash talk he tends to unleash ahead of every fight. This time out, it was P. Diddy allegations lodged at NBA star LeBron James, and terrorist references lobbed towards welterweight champ Belal Muhammad.

On Buckley, Covington was perhaps unusually quiet; he even brought Chael Sonnen with him to the ceremonial weigh-ins on Friday, letting one of the sport’s best talkers take to the mic for him. Sonnen opted to stick to fight hype, perhaps saving Covington from further embarrassment. Covington, who had hyped up his entrance during fight week, walked out with Sonnen and Hulk Hogan carrying an American flag by his side.

Buckley came out putting immediate pressure and establishing his jab early. He landed a nice low kick to one-two combination. The first takedown attempt from Colby was easily stuffed. A cut on Covington’s right eye lid clearly started to bother him. Buckley took advantage and threw more combinations coming forward. They were both throwing looping shots, but Buckley was getting the better of these exchanges. Covington shot a double-leg, switched to single-leg, but Buckley completely outmuscled him. He then caught Covington mid-headkick with a right hook and ends the round landing ground-and-pound.

Buckley sprawled on another takedown attempt and landed a good knee to the body on his way up in the early moments of round 2. He kept attacking Colby’s body with hooks, preventing him from pushing his usual pace. Fourth time was the charm for Covington as he finally got Buckley to the ground and took side control. Buckley tried to get to a hip and post on one arm, but Colby did a good job of controlling his wrists to take away his balance. Buckley eventually did get back up and got back to winning the striking battle as Colby’s cut was clearly hampering his ability to see oncoming strikes. A more competitive five minutes, but based on damage, a Buckley round nonetheless.

As the third round was about to start, we could hear the octagon-side doctor telling referee Dan Miragliotta to keep a close look at the cut over Covington’s right eye. The round started with an immediate telegraphed takedown attempt from “Chaos” that was easily seen from far away. Buckley kept mixing up body and head strikes and the accumulation grounded Covington.

Buckley got full mount, but not for long as Colby got back to his feet. By this point Covington’s face is a complete mess and since the blood is evidently obstructing his view, Buckley cannot miss with his punches. The fight got the ground again and Buckley got top position, but an ill-advised back take attempt resulted in an unusual triangle attempt from him that Covington got out of. With Colby on top and Buckley accepting full guard, Colby landed little ground-and-pound shots trying to grind away at Buckley’s gas tank. Once Buckley got to the fence and got back up, referee Dan Miragliotta called time for the doctor to take a closer look at Covington’s cut. The doctor advised Miragliotta to stop it, and he did.

Doctor stoppages often feel anti-climactic, but with a cut on the eye lid that was obviously having a big effect on the fight, it was a justified stoppage.

Official Result: Joaquin Buckley def. Colby Covington by Doctor’s Stoppage (Round 3, 4:42)

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On Friday, all fighters made weight for the final UFC card of 2024. It’s a makeshift, modified main event closing the show, with Colby Covington stepping in to replace Ian Machado Garry against Joaquin Buckley. That, after Garry was shifted to last week’s UFC 310 against Shavkat Rakhmonov.

Covington has not fought in a year, and has fought just once per calendar year for five years running, going 2-3 in that stretch, and 0-3 in title fights. Yet he remains a name in the division, a former interim welterweight champ who is happy to talk trash to sell a fight.

As for Buckley, “Newmansa” has done nothing but win since dropping down to welterweight. Five straight wins have earned him his first UFC main event, and while it’s not at home in St. Louis, it’s a main event in sunny Tampa with the chance for a big Christmas present should he pull off the win.

Check below for photo and video highlights from Friday’s ceremonial weigh-in, plus official weigh-in results!

UFC Tampa: Covington vs. Buckley Weigh-In Results

Main card

Welterweight: Colby Covington (171) vs. Joaquin Buckley (171)
Featherweight: Cub Swanson (146) vs. Billy Quarantillo (146)
Flyweight: Manel Kape (125) vs. Bruno Gustavo da Silva (126)
Light Heavyweight: Vitor Petrino (204.5) vs. Dustin Jacoby (205.5)
Bantamweight: Adrian Yañez (136) vs. Daniel Marcos (136)
Light Heavyweight: Navajo Stirling (206) vs. Tuco Tokkos (206)

Preliminary card

Lightweight: Michael Johnson (156) vs. Ottman Azaitar (156)
Lightweight: Joel Álvarez (156) vs. Drakkar Klose (156)
Featherweight: Sean Woodson (145.5) vs. Fernando Padilla (145.5)
Featherweight: Miles Johns (146) vs. Felipe Lima (146)
Women’s Flyweight: Miranda Maverick (126) vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth (126)
Bantamweight: Davey Grant (136) vs. Ramon Taveras (136)
Women’s Strawweight: Josefine Lindgren Knutsson (116) vs. Piera Rodriguez (116)

Ceremonial Weigh-In Highlights

The post UFC Tampa: Covington vs. Buckley Weigh-In Photo and Video Highlights appeared first on Cageside Press.

The card’s main event underwent a shift when Ian Machado Garry opted to drop out of his fight with Joaquin Buckley to face Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 in a welterweight title eliminator. That opened the door for the return of Colby “Chaos” Covington, competing for the first time in a year, and since a loss to Leon Edwards for the promotion’s welterweight title.

Despite achieving a considerable amount of notoriety thanks to his adoption of a pro-wrestling style heel persona dripping with MAGA-style talking points, Covington’s absence hasn’t really been felt at a time when the welterweight division’s new breed has been on fire. Rakhmonov, Garry, and Jack Della Maddalena are the future of the division, and all three have been looked at as future champions. Covington, whose consistency has been lacking (Saturday will mark just five fights in the past five calendar years) was at risk of losing what little relevance he still had, were he not to return now. And a win is equally important for the 36-year old.

Joaquin Buckley, at 30, might be a name that joins those aforementioned new stars shortly. While his star hit the highest heights in 2020 with a Knockout of the Year finish of Impa Kasanganay, he struggled with top competition at middleweight, falling to Nassourdine Imavov and Chris Curtis. A move down to welterweight in 2023, however, has resulted in five straight wins, including the likes of Vicente Luque and ex-title challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. A victory against Covington, a former interim champ, would land Buckley, ranked #9 to Covington’s #6, at least on the outskirts of the title picture.

Weigh-ins for UFC Tampa get underway at 9PM ET, 6PM PT on Friday, December 13, 2024. Full results can be found below.

UFC Tampa: Covington vs. Buckley Weigh-In Results

Main card

Welterweight: Colby Covington (171) vs. Joaquin Buckley (171)
Featherweight: Cub Swanson (146) vs. Billy Quarantillo (146)
Flyweight: Manel Kape (125) vs. Bruno Gustavo da Silva (126)
Light Heavyweight: Vitor Petrino (204.5) vs. Dustin Jacoby (205.5)
Bantamweight: Adrian Yañez (136) vs. Daniel Marcos (136)
Light Heavyweight: Navajo Stirling (206) vs. Tuco Tokkos (206)

Preliminary card

 Lightweight: Michael Johnson (156) vs. Ottman Azaitar (156)
Lightweight: Joel Álvarez (156) vs. Drakkar Klose (156)
Featherweight: Sean Woodson (145.5) vs. Fernando Padilla (145.5)
Featherweight: Miles Johns (146) vs. Felipe Lima (146)
Women’s Flyweight: Miranda Maverick (126) vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth (126)
Bantamweight: Davey Grant (136) vs. Ramon Taveras (136)
Women’s Strawweight: Josefine Lindgren Knutsson (116) vs. Piera Rodriguez (116)

The post UFC Tampa: Covington vs. Buckley Weigh-In Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Taking to the mic in the first scrum of the day, Covington addressed the cameras to question LeBron James and his connection to so-called “Diddy parties,” calling the NBA star a “scumbag.”

That set the tone for much of what would follow from Covington, who started (well, past James anyway) with a low blow on welterweight champ Belal Muhammad.

Asked about how his UFC Tampa main event with Joaquin Bckley came together, Covington claimed that “I called the UFC when Belal [Muhammad] had a pager on his foot, and he backed out because I guess the pager exploded on his ankle and messed up his toe. Which is just weird, you guys need to ask Belal, why is he wearing pagers around his ankle? That’s just weird.”

Belal is, as is well known, Palestinian. In September, Israel, currently at war in Gaza following an attack by Hamas last year, also executed an indiscriminate attack on Lebanon, rigging pagers to explode which ultimately killed both enemy targets, as well as multiple children. The message Covington is sending: Belal is a terrorist.

Pretty low, pretty racist, pretty much what to expect from Colby Covington at this point. He’d also have you believe that he wanted to step into a fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov on short notice. If you buy that, he might even sell you a bridge in Brooklyn.

“So [Muhammad] pulled out of the fight, so I called the UFC to volunteer. I wanted to fight Shavkat,” Covington continued. “That was the fight I wanted; I think he’s all hype, he hasn’t fought anybody at my level, an elite fighter in a five-round fight.”

“I was excited to fight Shavkat, but the UFC already had other plans, they said hey we’re going to do the other fight with the cuck, Ian Garry. So they wanted to do that fight, but they’re like ‘hey we need to sell this fight with Joke-quin Buckley in Tampa, he’s not a star, he’s a bum, he’s a nobody, so we need to someone to sell this show. Can you be a company man, come do it?'”

Covington said yes to the fight with Buckley. Which might be the only believable part of the entire store. Though what Covington claims transpired was a conversation that went like this:

“I said ‘absolutely Hunter Campbell. Whatever you need, man. I’m a company man, I love this company, God bless the UFC, God bless America. What a great opportunity to fight in my home state, defend home turf in Tampa, Florida. Three hours up the road from where I live in Miami, Florida.’ This is just a beautiful opportunity, I’m thankful to be here. Thank you UFC.

If Colby Covington is trying to sell a fight with Muhammad, he’s going to need a lot more than wins. At 2-3 in his past five and 0-3 in fights for the undisputed welterweight title, “Chaos” has nearly vanished from the title picture. His activity level has been low as well, fighting just once a year for five straight years now. His two wins in that span? Over Jorge Masvidal and Tyron Woodley, both gone from the promotion (though Masvidal may be on the verge of a return).

All jokes by Covington aside he’s 2-3 in his last five fights with his only victories against the Tyron Woodley and Jorge Masvidal who have been out of the UFC for some time now. He’ll need an impressive performance to throw his name into the Muhammad sweepstakes.

Watch the entire media day scrum with Colby Covington above. He faces Joaquin Buckley in the main event of UFC Tampa on Saturday.

The post Colby Covington Fires Shots At LeBron, Ian Garry and Jon Jones appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I ain’t going to lie to you. I wanted that fight. We was promoting Buck vs. Cuck and that was going to be one the biggest things around,” Buckley told reporters on Wednesday.

“At the end of the day I feel like me and Colby I think that’s a big fight too.”

Buckley (20-6) was originally set to face Garry in the main event at UFC Tampa. Welterweight champ Belal Muhammad suffered a bone infection that took him out of the fight, and in stepped Garry to face Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310.

Instead of facing Garry in Florida Buckley gets one of the more polarizing fighters in the promotion in Covington.

“(Covington) has won the interim title. A person that’s fought for the title three times even though he lost. He got a big name. He has a big persona, he got big connections, like with the president. I don’t even know if the president’s going to be there, but if somebody like that is watching my fight that’s going to be a big deal. It’s historic,” he said.

“The Colby fight is way bigger than the Ian Garry fight.”

Covington brings his own brand of promoting with a brash attitude, and inflammatory statements, but Buckley says he sees through all that.

“I feel like the dude that he portrays is obviously a character, and everybody knows it. It’s not a secret. Everybody knows he’s trying to do like the WWE persona. I feel like it got him very far and got him exactly where he needs to be,” Buckley said.

“Now it’s getting old. It has no value anymore. I feel like right now it’s a great opportunity to use this fight to kind of push my name and push my brand.”

Watch the entire media day scrum Joaquin Buckley above. He headlines UFC Tampa against Colby Covington on Saturday.

The post Joaquin Buckley Says Covington’s Character “It’s getting old” appeared first on Cageside Press.