Henry Cejudo thinks Colby Covington will struggle against Joaquin Buckley.

Covington (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) stepped in to face rising welterweight contender Buckley (20-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) in the UFC on ESPN 63 headliner Dec. 14 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.

Covington has split his past six appearances, but his setbacks have come in title fights against Kamaru Usman twice, and most recently Leon Edwards. Cejudo doesn’t see Covington posing any threats to Buckley.

“The style that Colby Covington is doing is so predictable now,” Cejudo said on his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Kamaru Usman. “The fact that they see him lose time and time again, whether it’s with Leon Edwards or yourself (Usman), it’s there. Once you stop Colby’s takedowns, things will fall into place.

“Look at how Joaquin covers distance, bro. Double feints, dipping in to eventually stop a dude like ‘Wonderboy.’ So, I’m high on this kid. This kid is dangerous. I can see Colby Covington losing via stoppage to a guy like Joaquin Buckley, and I truly do believe that.”

Since dropping back down to 170 pounds, Buckley has won five straight, most recently knocking out former title challenger Stephen Thompson at UFC 307 in October. Meanwhile, Covington hasn’t competed since a unanimous decision loss to Edwards in their title fight at UFC 296 last December.

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