A changing of the guard is happening at welterweight. Joaquin Buckley is the latest young 170-pounder to break through to the elite after stopping Colby Covington at UFC Fight Night on Saturday.
Buckley, 30, battered Covington, 36, from pillar to post in main event from Tampa, Florida. Covington’s historically strong chin endured Buckley’s power, but his right eye wasn’t so lucky. A grazing uppercut sliced Covington’s upper eyelid in Round 1. It got progressively worse as his more youthful opponent tacked on strikes. Referee Dan Miragliotta called on a doctor to evaluate Covington near the end of Round 3. The doctor ruled Covington unfit to continue with 18 seconds left in the round.
While Buckley never knocked down or seriously rocked Covington, his victory over the former interim UFC welterweight champion was well-earned. Buckley outstruck Covington in each round, defended most takedown attempts, mitigated damage on the bottom and always returned to his feet.
Buckley (21-6) will likely take Covington’s No. 6 spot in the UFC official welterweight top 15 on Monday. Buckley is moving up the ranks along with Shavkat Rakhmonov, Jack Della Maddalena, Sean Brady and Ian Machado Garry. The quartet of contenders is beginning to clutter the top of the division as stalwarts like Covington, Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns try to hold firm.
Buckley made an unconventional callout post-match. The welterweight contender, who improved his winning streak to six, invited the Tampa crowd to choose his next opponent. Buckley offered three names and gauged the crowd’s response. The audience mostly dismissed Leon Edwards, but Usman and welterweight champion Belal Muhammad got similar reactions.
“I think it’s Kamaru Usman, baby,” Buckley said. “Let’s go.”
Covington (17-5) looked uncomfortable for most of the fight. The three-time undisputed title challenger is coming off consecutive losses for the first time in his 12-year pro mixed martial arts career.
