Joaquin Buckley received plenty of props for his dominant UFC Tampa win, but the MMA community also had words for his opponent Colby Covington.
And those words weren’t nearly as kind.
Buckley dominated Saturday’s main event at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., battering a resilient Covington for the better part of 15 minutes before the bout was stopped late in the third round. Earlier in the fight, Buckley opened up a nasty cut over Covington’s right eye, a wound that became more pronounced and increasingly bloody as the action went on.
Referee Dan Miragliotta called for a break in the action in Round 3 so the cut could be examined and a ringside physician ruled that Covington could not continue with the blood streaming down into his eye and affecting his vision.
UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad, a longtime rival of Covington’s, isn’t interested in hearing how Covington plans to spin his latest loss, writing on Twitter, “Man, I know he’s gonna have a bunch of excuses but he just sucks.”
See more social media reactions below, including more Covington criticism and compliments for Buckley.
man I knows he’s gonna have a bunch of excuses but he just sucks
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) December 15, 2024
Buckley knocks out usman
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) December 15, 2024
Colby had his shirt cut already before he ripped it #UFCTampa pic.twitter.com/mNHxscdh1m
— Diana Belbiță (@DianaBelbita) December 15, 2024
10-9 Buckley. Colby is getting rawdogged #UFCTampa
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) December 15, 2024
Buckley can be a champion in this sport. (6-0) as a welterweight. I am impressed #UFCTampa
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) December 15, 2024
Buckley vs Garry. Book it…or Rebook it! #UFCTampa
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) December 15, 2024
If I were Colby’s corner, I’d be screaming at him to stop touching the cut. He’s undoing the cut man’s work by immediately touching it. Had himself leaking again before the round started #UFCTampa
— Chase Hooper (@chase_hooper) December 15, 2024
Buckley is looking really good! He’s a real problem at welterweight! #ufctampa
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) December 15, 2024
Buckley is looking like a monster bro @ufc
— Brian Ortega (@BrianTcity) December 15, 2024
Buckley looked phenomenal. What a performance. This is the best Buckley I’ve ever seen #UFCTampa
— Ode' ⭕️sbourne (@OdeOsbourne) December 15, 2024
Buckley beat the hell out of Colby for 3 rounds, he is Him #UFCTampa
— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) December 15, 2024
Unfortunate way for it to end but that cut looks really bad #UFCTampa
— Jillian DeCoursey (@lionheartjill) December 15, 2024
@Newmansa94 Yes sir
— Jamahal Hill (@JamahalH) December 15, 2024
