Joaquin Buckley was Surprised to Learn He was Fighting Colby Covington “Shows people the level I’m on.”
New Mansa’ Joaquin Buckley was set to face Ian Machado Garry, but his opponent got switched and now he will face former top-ranked welterweight Colby Covington. This is set to be a headlining fight on December 14. At first, Buckley wasn’t sure if the match was actually happening.
Joaquin Buckley Was Surprised by Colby Covington
Since moving to welterweight, Joaquin Buckley has been on an unstoppable run including his most recent knockout win against former title contender Stephen Thompson. Interestingly, the fight with Covington came together on short notice. Initially, Buckley was scheduled to face Ian Machado Garry, but plans changed when Garry was moved to a different event. Covington stepped in as a replacement, creating this matchup.
Chaos’ Colby Covington has been relatively inactive lately and is better known for supporting Donald Trump. Covington is known for his outspoken nature and has been involved in various public feuds with other fighters.
The US-born Joaquin Buckley explained how this fight came together, speaking in an interview with James Lynch, he said:
“When I saw the news and the rumors going around on social media, I was like, “Nah, this can’t be happening.” I’d already signed my bout agreement and everything. So I thought, why not go ahead and make that post real quick to let people know the fight was still on? But then, before I knew it, Dana White came out with the announcement, like, “Nah, we got the two undefeated kids fighting each other.”
“Then I got a call from Hunter, telling me they had a great opportunity for me to fight Colby Covington. So they just made the switch. Why did they make the switch? I can’t tell you. But other than that, I just know I’ve got another good fight, and I’m still the main event. That’s all I care about.“
Now, Colby Covington is a must-win position while the streaking Buckley is looking to climb the competitive welterweight rankings. ‘New Mansa’ concluded with:
“Beating someone like this shows people the level I’m on. I can’t wait to show the world how great I am”
