Colby Covington makes return in UFC Tampa main event fight with Joaquin Buckley in December
Former interim welterweight champion, Colby Covington is set for his return to the Octagon for the first time in a year, taking on the surging, Joaquin Buckley in a reworked headliner at UFC Tampa on December 14. from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
Covington, who currently holds the number six rank in the official welterweight pile, has been sidelined since UFC 296 back in December of last year, most recently dropping a unanimous decision loss to former undisputed champion, Leon Edwards in his third try for the undisputed divisional throne.
As for the streaking St. Louis native, Buckley, the current number nine ranked contender most recently featured at UFC 308 last month in Salt Lake City, stopping former two-time welterweight title challenger, Stephen Thompson with a thunderous rallying knockout win.
Colby Covington books UFC Fight Night Tampa headliner with Joaquin Buckley
And as per UFC CEO, Dana White online tonight, Colby Covington is now set to take on Joaquin Buckley in a reworked headliner at UFC Fight Night Tampa next month.
Replacing the unbeaten, Ian Garry in a main event fight with Buckley, Covington takes the place of the Irish striker, who has now booked a co-headliner over the course of five rounds in an officially-billed title eliminator against the undefeated, Shavkat Rakhmonov a week earlier at UFC 310.
Without a win since 2022, Clovis native, Covington’s most recent success came in the form of a unanimous decision shutout win over former American Top Team training partner and close friend, Jorge Masvidal in the pair’s main event grudge fight.
A former interim champion, Colby Covington struck divisional spoils back in 2018 in the co-headliner of UFC 225, defeating former undisputed lightweight kingpin, Rafael dos Anjos.
As for Buckley, the streaking contender who has won five in a row since his return to the welterweight limit, has bested names including the likes of Vicente Luque, Alex Morono, and the above-mentioned, Thompson.
