TAMPA, Fla. – UFC on ESPN 63 headliner Colby Covington wants to show that he’s still among the best at 170 pounds.
Covington (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) takes on the streaking Joaquin Buckley (20-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) in Saturday’s welterweight main event (ESPN2, ESPN+) at Amalie Arena.
In his past outing at UFC 296, Covington fell short in his third attempt at undisputed gold when he lost a unanimous decision to Leon Edwards. Covington broke his foot early in the fight and has something to prove to those writing him off after that performance.
“People have been trying to trash my name for too long when I’ve fought the best fighters in the world for eight to 10 years straight,” Covington told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 63 media day. “This is my opportunity to come out, beat a young, hungry, up-and-comer that’s on a long, five-fight win streak and has a lot of hype behind his name, explosive hands.
“So, it’s an opportunity to bring him in the deep waters, in the main event spotlight, and show the world that I’m still the best welterweight on planet earth.”
Why Covington accepted Buckley fight
With his past several bouts coming against big names, many observers were surprised to see Covington take on a rising contender like Buckley. The former multiple-time welterweight title challenger explains why he did.
“I wanted to fight Shavkat (Rakhmonov),” Covington said. “That was the fight I wanted. I think he’s all hype. He hasn’t fought anybody at my level, an elite fighter in a five-round fight. So I was excited to fight Shavkat, but the UFC already had other plans. They said, ‘Hey, we’re going to do the other fight with the cuck, Ian Garry.’
“So, they wanted to do that fight, but they were like, ‘OK, we need to fill this main event with Joaquin Buckley in Tampa. He’s not a star. He’s a bum. He’s a nobody. We need somebody to sell this show. Can you be a company man, come do it? I said, ‘Absolutely, Hunter Campbell. Whatever you need.’ I’m a company man. I love this company.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 63.
