Covington Disputes Tampa Stoppage After Buckley Loss
Joaquin Buckley defeated Colby Covington by doctor-stoppage TKO at 4:42 of round three in the main event at Tampa on December 14, 2024. The bout was stopped after a cut above Covington’s right eye continued bleeding.
The video above is Michael Bisping’s reaction to the fight, not Covington’s interview. Covington addressed the loss in a video posted to his own YouTube channel the following Monday. He disputed the stoppage, saying he believed the fight was even after two rounds and that he was beginning to build momentum.
Covington said he had heard a senior promotion official question whether the bout would have been stopped in Las Vegas. The loss came in his first fight in a year. Chael Sonnen, who was in Covington’s corner, later said he had considered throwing in the towel because blood was getting into Covington’s eye. Those comments explain the disagreement around the stoppage, while the official result remains a third-round TKO for Buckley.
Sources: official event results · Reuters report on Covington’s response
The official record is clear about the result: Buckley won by doctor-stoppage TKO in round three. Covington disputed the decision and said he believed he was recovering momentum, while Sonnen described concern about the cut from the corner. Those accounts explain the debate without changing the recorded outcome.
Sources
Tags: MMA
