The recently concluded UFC Tampa was a night of exciting fights. The fight between Colby Covington and Joaquin Buckley was a highly anticipated bout that had fans on the edge of their seats.
The two have a history, with Buckley accusing Covington of being scared of him and not training with him in the past. It seems Covington’s fear was valid, as Buckley gave him the fight of his life at the UFC Tampa main event. Despite suffering a TKO loss and nasty cuts under his eyes, Covington insists the fight was unfair and that he should have been given more time in the cage.
During the fight, Covington suffered a nasty cut on his eyelid that led to a doctor’s stoppage. The fighter admits that the injury impaired his vision but says the fight should have continued.
“That’s what I’m going to say, too,” Covington said. “Bullshit. It was building a five-round fight.”
“We’re going to be back stronger than ever,” Covington said. “This is just the beginning for me. I wasn’t at my best tonight. I came off the couch, but it was for the company. I did this for the company I love so much that it changed my life. and I know that there’s still a lot of fight in me, and the best is yet to come.
“I was just getting warmed up in that fight. I think it was tied up 1-1 and I was starting to wear on him. I could see him breathing out of his mouth, I was starting to catch him with more shots, so it’s unfortunate that they stopped it. Even Dana came out and said if that was in Vegas, that would have never been stopped. so I took his hardest shots and they weren’t nothing. They didn’t faze me at all. I was walking right down. So we’ll come back stronger.”
The fighter believes the injury may have been sustained after clashing heads with Buckley. Notwithstanding this, Covington believed there was a chance to turn this fight around and snag a win, but the doctor stoppage came too early.
“We came in close contact, and I felt like there was a headbutt, and as soon as it cut in the first round, I couldn’t see,” Covington said. “I had blurred vision. And I was seeing three different people, I was like, f*ck, which one do I punch? I didn’t know what to do, I was kind of confused, but I knew I had to keep fighting. I had to give the UFC and the fans a show. That’s what they pay their hard-earned money to come for, and I’m a warrior, we’re gladiators. I’m not going to stop.
“I’ve had way worse in fights than a little cut over my eye, so it’s unfortunate that the doctor stopped the fight like that because if we’re in Vegas, I know the fight gets to keep going. I feel like I was really just starting to gain momentum, like I was starting to wear him out. I could see him breathing out of his mouth. There wasn’t as much volume at that point, so I felt like it was going to be my fight in the championship round. It was an unfortunate stop, and I feel like the doctor beat me tonight. I didn’t feel like I lost to another opponent.”
Covington was not the only one who felt this way, as UFC CEO Dana White also agreed that if the fighter were set in Florida or Nevada, the referee would have let it run’s course.
