Colby Covington – Syndication Server

Ian Machado Garry rooting for Joaquin Buckley to beat ‘b*tch’ Colby Covington at UFC on ESPN 63

Ian Machado Garry went off on Colby Covington after their fight didn’t materialize.

[autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag] went off on [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] after their fight didn’t materialize.

Machado Garry (15-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) spent months campaigning to fight Covington, accusing him for turning down a bout offer on multiple occasions. Machado Garry wound up getting booked against [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] in the UFC on ESPN 63 headliner on Dec. 14 from Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla..

However, when welterweight champion Belal Muhammad was forced out of his title defense against Shavkat Rakhmonov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) Dec. 7 at UFC 310, the promotion opted to pull Machado Garry out of his fight with Buckley, and schedule him against Rakhmonov.

Then in came Covington (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC), who stepped in against Buckley (20-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC), which Machado Garry finds comical.

“He’s been ducking me for f*cking 7-8 months,” Machado Garry said on Instagram. “I signed for the baddest man in the division and this guy comes out of the shadows. He is a p*ssy, he’s a b*tch, and one day I will get my hands on him.”

Machado Garry sent his support to Buckley, hoping that the knockout artist is able to take out Covington.

“Joaquin Buckley, I am behind you 100 percent of the way,” Machado Garry added. “Go out and put that man to sleep. Please and thank you. Do it for me because he’s not able to do it against me.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 63.

Colby Covington vs. Joaquin Buckley: Odds and what to know ahead of UFC Tampa headliner

The oddsmakers believe Colby Covington will lose to the streaking Joaquin Buckley in the UFC on ESPN 63 main event.

[autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] will make a surprising short-notice return to the octagon after one year away when he steps into the UFC on ESPN 63 headliner with [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag], who is unbeaten since dropping to welterweight.

Colby Covington vs. Joaquin Buckley preview

Covington (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) hasn’t seen action since December 2023 when he suffered a unanimous decision loss to then-champion Leon Edwards at UFC 296. The defeated dropped “Chaos” to 0-3 in undisputed UFC title fights, and the matchup with Buckley will give him a chance to register his first win over an active member of the UFC roster.

Looking to halt the brash surging contender will be a powerhouse player in Buckley (21-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC), who has put in solid work during his 4-0 run at 170 pounds, which includes stoppages of former title challenger Stephen Thompson and longtime contender Vicente Luque.

Colby Covington vs. Joaquin Buckley odds

DraftKings released the opening odds, in which Buckley is a +145 betting favorite over Covington, who is a -175 underdog.

How to watch Colby Covington vs. Joaquin Buckley at UFC on ESPN 63

When: December 14, 2024
Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Fla.
Broadcast/streaming: ESPN2, ESPN+

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 63.

Henry Cejudo sees Joaquin Buckley stopping Colby Covington at UFC on ESPN 63

Henry Cejudo thinks Colby Covington will struggle against Joaquin Buckley at UFC on ESPN 63.

[autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] will struggle against [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag].

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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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 63.

Analyzing UFC welterweight shake up: Rakhmonov vs. Machado Garry, Covington vs. Buckley

Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Ian Machado Garry and Colby Covington vs. Joaquin Buckley? We discuss these UFC matchups on “Spinning Back Clique.”

A lot is going on in the UFC’s welterweight division.

With UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] withdrawing from his first title defense at UFC 310 due to injury, the promotion was forced to make some big changes.

These changes were two important bookings: [autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag] was pulled from his fight against [autotag] Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] on Dec. 14, and matched up with [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag], who was supposed to challenge Muhammad. With Machado Garry out, Buckley was given former title challenger [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] for the Dec. 14 Fight Night in Tampa, Fla.

Were these the matchups the UFC welterweight division needed? Which fighters will come out victorious?

MMA Junkie’s Brian “Goze” Garcia, Mike Bohn, Danny Segura and host Gorgeous George discuss the pair of key welterweight bouts going down next month.

Watch their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below on YouTube or in podcast form.

Spinning Back Clique REPLAY: UFC 309 fallout, Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall, Paul-Tyson, more

On the latest episode of “Spinning Back Clique,” the panel discusses Jon Jones’ win over Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, Jake Paul’s victory over Mike Tyson, and more.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

This week’s panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Mike Bohn and Danny Segura will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate the following topics:

[autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] has made the heavyweight division quite interesting, to say the least. The living legend returned to the cage Saturday, successfully defending his UFC heavyweight title against [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] in the main event of UFC 309. Now it seems Jones has little to no intention of unifying the belt with interim champion [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag], and is calling for a bout against fellow star and light heavyweight champion [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag]. What happens now? Will Jones give in and fight Aspinall, or will he retire from MMA? We discuss and analyze everything surrounding the UFC 309 main event.
Jones wasn’t the only one who made headlines at UFC 309, which also saw [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] defeat [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] in their highly anticipated rematch; [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] continue his unbeaten run in MMA; [autotag]Mauricio Ruffy[/autotag] follow up on an impressive UFC debut; and much more. We discuss and highlight some of the other key results outside the UFC 309 main event.
Netflix debuted its first live sports event with a boxing match between popular influencer [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] and 58-year-old former champion [autotag]Mike Tyson[/autotag]. The event left plenty to discuss – some good, some bad. We react to Paul’s win over Tyson, along with Netflix’s jump into live sports.
To close out the show, we review some of the smaller news items outside the two big weekend events, including the booking of [autotag]Shavkat Rakmonov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag], which serves as the new co-main event of UFC 310; the return of [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag], who fills in for Machado Garry to fight [autotag]Joaquim Buckley[/autotag] in the main event of UFC on ESPN 63 on Dec. 14; and the implementation of the old UFC gloves – sort of.

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Colby Covington resurfaces, steps into UFC Tampa main event

Guess who’s back? That’s Colby Covington’s music.

[autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] said he was going to call Hunter Campbell on Monday to ask for a fight against [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag].

It appears the promotion had other plans. Instead, Covington (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) will face [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] (20-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) in a five-round welterweight UFC on ESPN 63 headliner Dec. 14 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., promotion CEO Dana White announced Saturday.

Covington, 36, replaces [autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag], who slides back a week to face Rakhmonov after champion Belal Muhammad pulled out. Covington most recently competed in a failed title bid vs. Leon Edwards in December. He lost by unanimous decision. It was the third time Covington had challenged for the title and came up short. He’s 1-2 in his most recent three.

Buckley, 30, seeks his sixth-straight victory in what will be his first promotional main event. He most recently competed in October when he knocked out Stephen Thompson.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DCa5-wmxZ_U/

With the addition, the UFC on ESPN 63 lineup includes:

Joaquin Buckley vs. Colby Covington
Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas
Dustin Jacoby vs. Vitor Petrino
Jamey-Lyn Horth vs. Miranda Maverick
Joel Alvarez vs. Drakkar Klose
Josefine Knutsson vs. Piera Rodriguez
Navajo Stirling vs. Tuco Tokkos
Davey Grant vs. Ramon Taveras
Manel Kape vs. Bruno Silva
Ottman Azaitar vs. Michael Johnson
Daniel Marcos vs. Adrian Yanez
Fernando Padilla vs. Sean Woodson
Miles Johns vs. Felipe Lima

Colby Covington slams Shavkat Rakhmonov for accusing him of empty UFC 310 callout

Colby Covington went off on Shavkat Rakhmonov as the pair continue to exchange words before UFC 310.

[autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] went off on [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag] as the pair of welterweights continue to exchange words.

Covington (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) recently revealed to Submission Radio that he offered to step in against Rakhmonov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) on Dec. 7 at UFC 310. Former champion Kamaru Usman also hinted that he’s willing to fight Rakhmonov, who isn’t buying either one of their claims.

“All I hear are empty callouts!” Rakhmonov wrote on X, tagging both Usman and Covington. “No real intention, no action. Just posturing for the media and fans @USMAN84kg @ColbyCovMMA.”

Rakhmonov’s post set off Covington, who went on an explicit rant on Instagram.

“Someone just showed me (manager Danny) Rubenstein’s tweet for that big dummy, sh*t rat,” Covington said. “Listen up, junior. Translate this to whatever caveman dialect you need to and get it through that big, empty skull attached to that gumby ass body: I don’t posture, and I don’t bluff. As soon as I get off this beautiful five-star Trump golf course located in the heart of MAGA country, West Palm Beach, Florida, I’m calling Hunter (Campbell) and Dana (White), and we can all see who’s posturing for clicks, bozo.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/DCPWveYxnrP/?hl=en

Rakhmonov proceeded to respond in the comments of Covington’s Instagram post.

“Let’s go, I’m ready! Your talking will not help you in the octagon,” Rakhmonov wrote.

Covington hasn’t competed since a title loss to then champion Leon Edwards at UFC 296 last December. Meanwhile, after submitting Stephen Thompson, Rakhmonov was gearing for his first title shot against welterweight champion Belal Muhammad at UFC 310, but Muhammad was forced to withdraw due to a bone infection in his foot.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

Colby Covington eyes ‘exciting fighter’ Jack Della Maddalena next

Colby Covington likes the idea of fighting Jack Della Maddalena next.

[autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] likes the idea of fighting [autotag]Jack Della Maddalena[/autotag] next.

Covington (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) says there’s been discussions for him to potentially face Della Maddalena (17-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC), who’s unbeaten in the octagon.

The Aussie hasn’t competed since rallying to knock out Gilbert Burns at UFC 299 in March, and has since been recovering from complications due to arm surgery. It’s been a while since Covington fought as well, most recently falling short in his title fight against then champion Leon Edwards at UFC 296 last December.

“We’ve been talking about this fight with Jack Della Maddalena,” Covington told Submission Radio. “I think it makes a lot of sense. He got a big win in my hometown in Miami last time he was out here, so you know, he has a little bit of a name out here.

“He’s undefeated, he’s hungry, he’s fearless. He’s an exciting fighter, so I think that’s a fight that the fans would be intrigued with. I think it’s a high-level fight. It’s a top contender fight that establishes who’s the next contender for the belt.”

Ian Machado Garry (15-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) recently revealed that the UFC came to him with Covington’s name, and he immediately accepted. However, Covington insists he’s never been offered that fight.

“There is no contract,” Covington said. “If there was a contract, he’d be plastering it all over the internet and the whole world would see it. This fight has never been talked about. If there was a contract, he would be showing it. He would be putting it everywhere.

“He’s irrelevant. He hasn’t done anything to deserve a fight of this magnitude. The fight’s never been offered. I don’t know why he’s talking about that. I’ve been offered three other fights, they weren’t him. They didn’t have his name on it. There was no contract offered, and he’s still a cuck.”

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Colby Covington reveals he offered to fight Shavkat Rakhamonov at UFC 310

Colby Covington says he threw his name in the hat to fight Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310.

[autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] says he threw his name in the hat to fight [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag] at UFC 310.

Rakhmonov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) was scheduled to challenge welterweight champion Belal Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) in the Dec. 7 headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, but Muhammad withdrew due to a bone infection in his foot.

Former multiple-time title challenger Covington (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) revealed that he offered to step in vs. Rakhmonov, but the UFC was working on something else.

“I offered. I told the UFC that I was willing to step up to the plate,” Covington told Submission Radio. “I would love to save the show and put on a good show for the fans. They pay their hard-earned money for big, megafights. They need a megafight. That’s not a mega fight. They need someone who is going to put asses in seats and entertain people, so I was excited. I wanted the fight, and I asked for it but I think they have other plans.”

Covington is confident he’d be a bad matchup for unbeaten Rakhmonov, who boasts a 100 percent finish rate.

“I can walk him down and pressure him, and he’s not going to like my pressure,” Covington said. “He doesn’t do very well with southpaws. We saw how he did with the busboy, Geoff Neal. That was a very competitive fight. He hasn’t fought a top, top contender yet. He’s fought some gatekeepers of the division, some guys on the cusp of the top 10, but he’s never fought a champion like me – a guy who’s going to come at him for five straight rounds and just walk him down.

“I match up well. He stands very tall. I don’t see anything special with him. He has some good submissions. He’s slick, but that’s when he can control the wrestling. He’s not going to control the wrestling on me, so I think I can beat him pretty easily, and I think it’s a favorable fight, and it’s a fight that I want in the future whether he wins or loses in December.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

Overreaction Time: UFC drops the ball, Colby Covington’s time up, DDP makes a big mistake, more!

Check out the latest episode of “Overreaction Time” as host Simon Samano and Mike Bohn cover big UFC event developments and more.

The time for overreacting is here!

Check out the latest episode of “Overreaction Time” at noon ET/9 a.m. PT as host Simon Samano and MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn debate these “overreactions” on the following topics in mixed martial arts:

UFC dropped the ball by not booking [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag] at UFC 310.
[autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] should be cut from the UFC.
[autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] has another UFC flyweight title run in him – and this one will last a while.
[autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag] wanting [autotag]Khamzat Chimaev[/autotag] instead of [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] is a big mistake.
Just a reminder: [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] has no chance of beating [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag].

Watch the full episode in the video above.