Colby Covington claims he would’ve turned the tide against Joaquin Buckley if UFC Tampa fight wasn’t stopped

Colby Covington has spoken out following his TKO loss to Joaquin Buckley at UFC Tampa.

Covington and Buckley shared the Octagon inside the Amalie Arena this past Saturday night. This was the final UFC fight of 2024. Buckley’s standup proved to be a major issue for Covington. “New Mansa” opened up a cut on Covington’s eyelid that got worse as the fight went on.

In the third round, it was determined by the Octagon-side doctor that Covington’s cut was bad enough to call a halt to the fight.

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Colby Covington Thinks He Would’ve Turned Things Around at UFC Tampa

Colby Covington took to his YouTube channel to give a behind the scenes look at his UFC Tampa loss to Joaquin Buckley. In the video, Covington admitted that the cut on his eyelid impacted his vision throughout the fight.

“So, we came in close contact and I feel there was a headbutt,” Covington said. “As soon as it cut in the first round I couldn’t see. I had blurry vision, I was seeing three different people, I was like, ‘F*ck, which one do I punch?’ I didn’t know what to do, I was kind of confused but I knew I had to keep fighting. I had to give the UFC and the fans a show, and that’s what they pay their hard-earned money to come for and I’m a warrior. We’re gladiators.”

With that said, “Chaos” believes he would’ve turned the tide in the final two rounds if he had been allowed to keep fighting.

“It’s unfortunate that the doctor stopped the fight like that ’cause if we’re in Vegas I know the fight gets to keep going,” Covington said. “I feel like I was really just starting to gain momentum. Like, I was starting to wear on him, I could see him breathing out of his mouth. He wasn’t as much volume at that point. So, I feel like it was gonna be my fight in the championship rounds.”

Where Covington goes from here remains to be seen. He did make it clear that retirement isn’t on his mind, and he plans to keep trucking along inside the Octagon.

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