Hulk Hogan Joins Colby Covington’s UFC Tampa Walkout
Hulk Hogan joined Colby Covington’s walkout in Tampa on Dec. 14, 2024, the same night WWE held Saturday Night’s Main Event in Uniondale, New York. Reports confirm both events, but do not establish that Hogan had been scheduled to appear at WWE’s show.
Watch the official walkout video.
Covington walked out with Hogan and Chael Sonnen, carrying an American flag and using Hogan’s “Real American” theme. (MMA Fighting’s report and walkout video)
Covington lost the main event to Joaquin Buckley by doctor-stoppage TKO at 4:42 of round three. (Official event results)
Hogan died on July 24, 2025, at age 71, WWE announced. (WWE statement)
A wrestling-style entrance at UFC Tampa
The entrance brought professional-wrestling presentation into the setting of a UFC main event. Hogan’s music, Covington’s flag and the presence of Sonnen made the walkout a distinct part of the broadcast before the welterweights began competing. The accompanying video records that entrance rather than the fight itself.
The setting was Amalie Arena, where the UFC closed its 2024 schedule. Although Hogan’s appearance overlapped with WWE’s televised event in New York, attending the Tampa card does not by itself show that he canceled another booking. The confirmed story is his participation in Covington’s walk to the Octagon.
The main event’s sporting outcome
Buckley’s third-round victory supplied a different conclusion from the spectacle of the entrance. Hogan and Sonnen accompanied Covington before the bout, but the result was decided by the competition and its officials. The walkout remains a notable crossover moment for wrestling and MMA viewers, while Buckley’s TKO is the official outcome attached to the headline fight.
