Joaquin Buckley closed the 2024 UFC schedule with a victory by means of third-round technical knockout towards former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington on Saturday at UFC Battle Night time in Tampa, Fla.
Buckley (21-6-0) took the battle at 4:42 of the third spherical and improved to 4-0 this yr, dominating Covington in all facets of the bout. He practically ended the battle in Spherical 1 with a TKO, nearly getting a triangle-choke submission earlier than the stoppage.
Buckley, a winner of six straight fights, referred to as for 3 former or present champions as potential choices for his subsequent opponent: Leon Edwards, Kamaru Usman and present titleholder Belal Muhammad.
Primarily based on fan reactions, Buckley mentioned he prefers to battle Usman.
“I believe it is Kamaru Usman, child,” Buckley mentioned. “Let’s go.”
Covington has not earned a victory within the octagon since March 5, 2022, having misplaced three of his previous 4 outings to drop to 17-5-0.
The co-main occasion noticed UFC veteran Cub Swanson (30-14-0) land 99 vital strikes to knock out Billy Quarantillo within the third spherical of a featherweight bout. Swanson mentioned post-fight that he was occupied with retirement however needs to weigh his choices. Quarantillo (18-7-0) has misplaced three of his previous 4 fights.
Manel Kape (20-7-0) stayed in flyweight title rivalry with a TKO victory towards Bruno Gustavo da Silva (14-6-2) on the 1:57 mark of Spherical 3. It was Silva’s first loss since October 2020, as he had received 4 straight affairs.
Mild heavyweight Dustin Jacoby (20-9-1) rallied to knock out Vitor Petrino (11-2-0) within the third spherical. Jacoby’s proper cross despatched Petrino crashing to the canvas, incomes the previous his first win since August 2023 and snapping a two-fight skid.
A intently contested bantamweight battle noticed Daniel Marcos (17-0-0) stay unbeaten with a break up choice towards Adrian Yanez (17-6-0).
Mild heavyweights Navajo Stirling (6-0-0) and Tuco Tokkos (10-5-0) opened the primary card, and Stirling earned a win by unanimous choice in his UFC debut. He took the playing cards 30-27, 30-27, 30-27.
–Subject Stage Media
