Covington vs Buckley

Who won Covington vs Buckley?

Joaquin Buckley beat Colby Covington by knockout in the 3rd round during the main event of UFC Fight Night, on Saturday 14th December 2024 at Amalie Arena in Tampa.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Welterweight division, which meant the weight limit was 170 pounds (12.1 stone or 77.1 KG).

Covington vs Buckley stats

Colby Covington stepped into the octagon with a record of 17 wins, 4 losses and 0 draws, 4 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 4 by submission.

Joaquin Buckley made his way to the cage with a record of 20 wins, 6 losses and 0 draws, 14 of those wins coming by knock out.

This was Colby Covington's 17th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2014. Joaquin Buckley marked his 15th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2020.

Colby Covington's UFC record stood at 12-5-0, while Joaquin Buckley's came in at 11-4-0.

The stats suggested Buckley had a massive power advantage over Covington, boasting a 70% knock out percentage over Covington's 24%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Covington had a large advantage over Buckley, boasting a 24% submission rate over Buckley's 0%.

Colby Covington was the older man by 6 years, at 37 years old.

Covington had a height advantage of 1 inch over Buckley. Despite this, Buckley had a 4-inch reach advantage.

Covington was arguably the more experienced fighter, having had 5 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2012, 2 years and 7 months earlier than Buckley, whose first professional fight was in 2014. He had fought 10 more professional rounds, 71 to Buckley's 61.

Covington vs Buckley form

Covington had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges once.

In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to Joaquin Buckley at UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Buckley on 14th December 2024 by knockout in the 3rd round at Amalie Arena, Tampa, United States.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Leon Edwards at UFC 296 on 16th December 2023 by unanimous decision in their UFC Welterweight championship fight at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had won against Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272 on 5th March 2022 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had been defeated by Kamaru Usman at UFC 268 on 6th November 2021 by unanimous decision in their UFC Welterweight championship fight at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

He had beaten Tyron Woodley at UFC Vegas 11 on 19th September 2020 by knockout in the 5th round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Buckley had won all 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 3opponents and going the distance twice.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had defeated Colby Covington at UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Buckley on 14th December 2024 by knockout in the 3rd round at Amalie Arena, Tampa, United States.

Previous to that, he was victorious against Stephen Thompson at UFC 307 on 5th October 2024 by knockout in the 3rd round at Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City.

Going into that contest, he had won against Nursulton Ruziboev at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Nascimento on 11th May 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Enterprise Center, St. Louis.

Before that, he had beaten Vicente Luque at UFC Fight Night: Blanchfield vs. Fiorot on 30th March 2024 by knockout in the 2nd round at Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City.

He had defeated Alex Morono at UFC Fight Night – Green vs Dawson on 7th October 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Joaquin Buckley had been fighting more than Colby Covington.

Going to this contest, Colby Covington had last fought 5 months and 8 days ago, while Joaquin Buckley's last outing had been 5 months and 8 days ago.

Covington's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 8 months and 3 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 11 months and 7 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 23 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 4.6 rounds on average.

Buckley's last 5 fights had come over a period of 1 year, 7 months and 15 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 3 months and 28 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 14 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.8 rounds on average.

What time did Covington vs Buckley start?

The fighters were expected to walk out at around 5:40 AM UTC , which was 12:40 AM EST or 9:40 PM PST on the West Coast of America, or 5:40 AM GMT in the UK.

What were the odds on Covington vs Buckley?

Colby Covington was a 2/1 (+200) underdog going into the contest, while Joaquin Buckley made his way into the ring at 2/5 (-250) with oddsmakers.