Colby Covington will return to action against Joaquin Buckley at the final event of the year, UFC On ESPN 63 in Las Vegas on December 14th.
The 36-year-old Covington is stepping in as a replacement for Ian Machado Garry, who will has now been moved to the co-main event spot of UFC 310 a week earlier in a welterweight title eliminator against Shavkat Rakhmonov instead.
That leaves Covington with a month to prepare for his first fight since an unsuccessful title challenge against Leon Edwards at UFC 293 last December, losing out by unanimous decision.
The No.6 ranked Covington has gone 3-3 over the past five years, with his other two losses also coming in failed title attempts against Kamaru Usman, while picking up victories over Robbie Lawler, Tyron Woodley and Jorge Masvidal.
As for the 30-year-old Buckley, he’s gone on a five-fight winning streak over the course of the past couple of years, including wins over the likes of Vicente Luque, Nursulton Ruziboev and most recently a knockout victory against Stephen Thompson in October to reach the No.9 spot in the 170lb rankings.
Covington vs. Buckley fronts a UFC On ESPN 63 event that will also feature Amanda Ribas vs. Mackenzie Dern in the co-main event.
