Colby Covington and Joaquin Buckley are set to clash inside the octagon next weekend at the UFC on ESPN 63 event. The two welterweights will headline the card, which takes place on Dec. 14 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
‘New Mansa’ heads into the fight in the form of his career, having won his last five fights in a row, three of which have come in 2024. The occasion also marks the biggest fight of Buckley’s career so far as Covington, who is ranked No.6, will be the highest ranked opponent he has faced.
For ‘Chaos’, it is a fight he desperately needs to win. The 36-year-old is 2-3 in his last five appearances and has lost his all three welterweight title fights.
Ahead of their bout next weekend, the odds for the bout have also been finalized, which as it stands have placed Buckley as a -270 favorite. Colby Covington is a +220 underdog for the first time in over five years, but according to Sherdog’s Ben Duffy, the odds don’t quite tell the full story.
Speaking in a UFC Tampa preview video on YouTube, Duffy has stated he was surprised by the odds, as Buckley has previously struggled against wrestlers in the octagon. He explained:
“The first time I watched Buckley fight, he got wrestle f*cked by Logan Storley in Bellator and Storley checks most of the boxes to be a poor man’s Colby Covington. An undersized guy for the division who gets by on outstanding technical wrestling and incredible pace.”
Catch Ben Duffy’s comments here (2:23:15):
Ian Machado Garry wants Colby Covington next
Ian Machado Garry was originally set to face Joaquin Buckley at UFC Tampa,. However, he was instead booked to face Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 last weekend, following Belal Muhammad’s injury.
Garry and Rakhmonov then fought out a high level bout that went the distance, which saw ‘Nomad’ pick up the win via unanimous decision. Whilst ‘The Future’ was ultimately handed the first loss of his professional career by Rakhmonov, his performance earned him plaudits and his stock has still risen despite the defeat.
Prior to facing Rakhmonov, however, Garry revealed he still has his eyes set on facing Covington, after the pair have engaged in a back-and-forth on social media over recent months.
Speaking at the UFC 310 pre-fight presser last week, the Irishman stated he wanted Covington next, regardless of if he won or lost. He said:
“I promise you now, my goal, my dream scenario…[I] come out unscathed, walk my *ss down to Florida, put that man [ Colby Covington] with me in the octagon and see what happens. I would dog walk him for 25 minutes and make it the worst night of his life, I promise you that now. He’ll never do it.”
Check out Ian Machado Garry’s comments here:
Edited by Tejas Rathi
