Joaquin Buckley got the better of Colby Covington tonight at UFC On ESPN 63, besting him in the striking exchanges while doing a good job of fending off most of his takedown attempts, before sealing a TKO victory in the the third round due to a nasty cut to Covington’s eyelid that forced a doctor’s stoppage.
Round One:
The final UFC fight of the year is underway in Florida!
Body kick from Covington. Buckley comes up short on a side kick to the body. Covington with a push kick to keep his opponent at bay.
Buckley darting forward at times, but not quite finding his range yet. They almost clinch for a moment and Buckley digs to the body then gets away.
Low kick for Buckley. Buckley goes for a punch and Covington goes in on a takedown attempt, but Buckley quickly sprawls to stuff that. Covington already has a little blood to his right eye and he’s wiping at it.
Missed leg kick from Covington. Head kick attempt from Buckley is blocked. Buckley punches to the body and then tries for a hook.
Covington presses forward behind punches. High kick attempt from Covington is blocked. Hard body punch from Buckley. Body kick from Covington.
Body punches from Buckley and Covington darts into a takedown attempt against teh cage. Buckley fighting it off very well and then moves away.
Buckley firing off a combination of punches now. He lands another punch. Covington darts forward with a kick but loses his balance and falls over, allowing Buckley to drop down punches just as the round comes to a close.
Round Two:
Covington’s cut to the right eyelid still bleeding as the second round gets underway. Covington trying for a takedown, but Buckley stuffs it and fires off punches.
Nice punch to the body from Buckley. Now the jab. Short flurry of punches for him. He rips to the body again. Now Covington pressing forward behind punches as Buckley backs off.
Covington in on another takedown attempt against the cage. This time he is able to get Buckley down parallel to the cage and has side control.
Buckley trying to scoot out, but Covington keeps him grounded for now. Not for long though because Buckley does then find a way back to his feet.
Kick for Covington. Head kick attempt from Buckley is blocked. Jab for him. Now a leg kick. Covington tries to flurry but eats a punch for his troubles.
Buckley pumps out the jab. Covington lands. Buckley finds success with the jab. He fires off another heavy punch then raises his arms aloft to the crowd, clearly feeling confident. Covington with a front kick to the body.
Round Three:
The doctor tells the ref the fight can’t go on much further due to the bad cut to Covington’s eyelid, but for now the action continues.
Jab for Buckley. Now a kick to the body. Spinning kick to the body from Covington now. Heavy right hands from Buckley.
Covington tries for a takedown that’s botched and Buckley is on top landing a few strikes, but then opts to go back to striking range.
Uppercut from Buckley. A right hand lands. Covington’s face soaked in blood. Another jab for Buckley. Right hand for Covington. Buckley lands a hard jab and a left hook behind it.
Covington tries for a takedown and Buckley’s sprawl is on point again. Covington trying to keep the fight down, but Buckley does well to stay on top. Buckley trying to take Covington’s back now, then changes to go for a potential triangle choke submission.
Buckley slips off and Covington gets on top. Covington is leaking blood heavily though and that doesn’t look good for this fight continuing beyond this round. Covington working on top for now though, but not getting too much going offensively.
Buckley able to work over to the cage and stand back up in the final minute of the round. Covington still clinching up against the cage though. He goes to his knees trying to get something going, but Buckley stuffs the attempt and then gets up firing off a knee.
At that point the ref steps in to get a doctor to look at Covington’s eye. And that’s it, the fight is over as the doctor says the cut to Covington’s right eyelid is too bad to continue. Buckley wins by TKO (doctor’s stoppage) at 4.42mins of the third round!
It’s unfortunate for the fight to end that way, but Buckley had been getting the better of the action up to that point and certainly earned his victory against his toughest opponent to date.
