5 takeaways from UFC Fight Night: Colby Covington vs. Joaquin Buckley
The UFC's final event of 2024 is now in the bag. Thankfully, the fans in Tampa last night were treated to a thrilling show.
UFC Fight Night: Colby Covington vs. Joaquin Buckley saw some great fights and great finishes, ensuring that the promotion ended the year with a bang.
So with plenty of talking points, this should give fans a lot of food for thought going into the Christmas period.
Here are five takeaways from UFC Fight Night: Colby Covington vs. Joaquin Buckley.
#5. Michael Johnson's knockout was one of the best of 2024
UFC fans have been treated to plenty of classic knockouts in 2024, but veteran lightweight Michael Johnson saved one of the best till last.
'The Menace', who has now been on the roster for 14 years, unleashed some serious violence against Ottman Azaitar, dispatching him with aplomb in the second round.
The win was Johnson's second in a row, and means that despite some sticky moments in recent years, he remains afloat at the age of 38.
A largely even first round saw Johnson come close with a right hook late on. It was a warning shot that Azaitar completely failed to heed.
In the second, then, when the Moroccan landed a right hand of his own and tried to follow up, he left himself wide open for the counter. Johnson stunned him with one right hook, and then turned his lights out with another, sending him crashing to the ground.
Unsurprisingly, the win was enough to net Johnson a $50k bonus, and the knockout undoubtedly stands with his best in the UFC. For now at least, this veteran keeps on rolling.
#4 Adrian Yanez deserved a draw with Daniel Marcos after a double foul
Last night's event was, thankfully, largely free of judging controversies. However, one fight did feature a bit of a questionable winner, with the referee this time leaving some scratching their heads.
The bantamweight bout between Adrian Yanez and Daniel Marcos was advertised as a potential firefight, and sure enough, the two men delivered.
Their clash was exciting throughout, with both landing some good shots. Despite Yanez rocking Marcos with a second round left hook, though, some good ground work from the Brazilian was enough to net him a win on two of the scorecards.
However, the events of the first round were controversial to say the least. Marcos landed not one, but two fouls on Yanez simultaneously, catching him with an eye poke and a low blow.
While Yanez was given time to recover, realistically, ref Keith Peterson should've taken a point from Marcos for this. It was reckless at best and an egregious piece of foul play at worst.
Had that been the case, Yanez likely would've come away with at least a draw, which was probably what he deserved.
This was something that UFC CEO Dana White agreed with, too. After the fight, he suggested the double foul was worth losing a point, and also claimed the refereeing and judging is better in the Korean Zombie's smaller promotion.
It was a damning verdict of the UFC's officiating, which is generally controlled by various athletic commissions, but unfortunately, it's unlikely things will change in 2025.
#3. Will the UFC reward Manel Kape with a title shot?
Last weekend saw UFC flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja defend his title successfully for the third time, as he choked out Kai Asakura in the second round of their bout.
Afterwards, the big question was around who should be next for 'The Cannibal', with no clear-cut top contender right now.
After last night, though, we may have an answer to that question in the form of Manel Kape.
The No.9-ranked 'Starboy' destroyed Bruno Gustavo da Silva, finally putting him away with a flurry of strikes in the third round after largely embarrassing him earlier on.
Kape wasted no time in calling Pantoja out for a title fight after his win, so will the UFC acquiesce to his demands?
On one hand, he'd be a fresh contender for Pantoja and he has won five of his last six bouts.
On the other hand, the fight prior to last night saw him well beaten by Muhammad Mokaev, and in his first fight with Pantoja, he was well beaten too.
Whether Kape will get his wish, then, remains to be seen. The only thing for certain is that he did his chances no harm with this excellent performance last night.
#2. Cub Swanson faces the veteran's conundrum after his win over Billy Quarantillo
The story of last night's co-headliner between veteran featherweights Cub Swanson and Billy Quarantillo was that 'Killer Cub' turned the clock back.
Swanson looked excellent early in the fight, using his patented sweeping combinations to light Quarantillo up with low kicks and right hands.
Quarantillo did make a comeback of sorts in the second round, but it was all for naught in the end. The third round saw Swanson land with a big one-two, putting the TUF 22 veteran down for good.
Swanson now finds himself at a crossroads of sorts, and he's faced with the classic veteran's conundrum.
On one hand, he looked good enough last night that he could easily continue to compete at this level for the foreseeable future. The UFC are likely to give him more fights like this if he carries on, and so he could well keep on winning.
On the other hand, though, would it not be better for him to hang up his gloves on a high, rather than wait to suffer the inevitable brutal defeat that will come at some point down the line?
It's a decision that will be tricky for Swanson to make, and based on his post-fight interview - which saw him admit he'd told his wife he was intending to retire, but saw him not quite commit - it's one he needs time to make.
#1. Joaquin Buckley is a title contender at welterweight; Colby Covington might just be done
The biggest victory last night undoubtedly belonged to Joaquin Buckley. He produced a career-best performance to completely dominate Colby Covington in the headliner, and should rise up into the top five at welterweight on the back of it.
The fight didn't quite finish in the highlight-reel fashion that 'New Mansa' would've hoped, of course. The cageside doctor was forced to wave things off in the third round, when a gory cut to Covington's right eye was deemed too risky for him to continue.
However, that didn't take away from Buckley's performance, and 'Chaos' was left in no doubt as to who the better man was.
Buckley picked him apart from the start, landing with big power punches to open the cut while denying all of the former interim champ's takedown attempts.
Realistically, plenty of fighters would've been put away by Buckley's arsenal, and it's a testament to Covington's toughness that he didn't go down.
It was, however, a worrying showing from 'Chaos'. He looked well past his best, and questions have to be asked now, not only over whether he still belongs in the top ten at 170 pounds, but whether he'd be better advised to walk away now.
For Buckley, though, it will be onwards and upwards. He's now 6-0 since moving to welterweight, and looks like a potential threat to anyone in the UFC at this weight. 2024 has been a banner year for him, but based on this showing, 2025 might be even better.
Overall, then, this was a hell of a way to end the year for the UFC, with the creation of a new star off the back of a fading one.