A career-best performance from Joaquin Buckley, but a rather unceremonious ending to the final UFC fight of 2024; with referee Dan Miragliotta waving off the bout on the advice of the ringside physician.
The decision to call a halt to the UFC Tampa main event has been met with a mixed response from both fans and fighters; with Dana White even claiming that the fight wouldn’t have been stopped if it had taken place elsewhere.
Dana White disagrees with the decision to stop Covington vs Buckley
During the opening round of his main event showdown with Joaquin Buckley, former interim champion Colby Covington suffered a nasty cut to his right eye.
Unfortunately, the laceration spewed more and more blood over the next two rounds, with referee Dan Miragliotta calling a stop to the contest late into the third round after doctors warned that Covington was at risk of losing his eyelid.
Speaking at the post-fight press conference, UFC CEO Dana White argued that whilst the injury was indeed cause for concern, the fight would’ve likely continued had they been back in Nevada.
“I was curious to see how it would go if it had gone five rounds, there’s no doubt that it was a bad cut, but that fight doesn’t get stopped in Vegas – that fight keeps going in Vegas, 100%.”
“Love him or hate him, the guy’s a dog, f**** tough as nails, took big shots to the body, big shots to the head that would have knocked a lot of people out… Colby’s durable and tough, but when you get cut, anything can happen.”
There’s an argument that Covington certainly didn’t help matters with his constant pawing at the laceration, which only served to undo the excellent work of the cut man.
“It was definitely bothering him, and literally as soon as the corner would fix it, he’s waiting to walk back out and he rips it open again, makes it start bleeding again… That alone tells you that the cut was bothering him big time.”
Whilst it would have been interesting to see how Covington would have fared in the championship rounds, many fans (including White) believe that ‘Chaos’ was on the brink of being finished either way.
“Listen, Colby’s an older guy who fights every once in a while, he’s always durable and always tough… Did you hear the body shots he was getting hit with tonight, and the head shots he took?
“That stuff would have stopped other guys, Colby’s tough, but I also feel like Colby wasn’t too p***** that that fight got stopped by the cut.”
UFC fighters and fans have been busy sharing their reactions to the TKO stoppage, with many echoing the same sentiments as Dana White.
With UFC Tampa now in the books, Buckley improves his professional record to 21-6 whilst Covington drops to 17-5.