Colby Covington is finally returning after almost a year to fight Joaquin Buckley in a 25-minute bout. This fight was not on anyone’s card for 2024. But for Belal Muhammad’s injury and Buckley’s initial opponent Ian Garry stepping in, we would probably not have seen this fight materialize. So, let’s take a closer look at how this new UFC Tampa main event combatants pair up.

Buckley is fresh off a win while Covington has been facing a bit of trouble with his previous fights. No doubt, it’s going to be one of the most exciting Fight Night events of the year 2024. And that has urged the fighting community to go into speculation mode. As the talks about the fight keep on rising, fight fans have begun wondering about the stats of the welterweights.

Comparing Joaquin Buckley vs. Colby Covington: Weight, height, reach, and more

Currently weighing around 170 pounds, Joaquin Buckley changed the direction of his UFC career with the change in weight class. Needless to say, moving to the welterweight division was one of the best decisions he ever made, and that got nothing but victories in the Octagon. On the other hand, Covington has been fighting as a welterweight ever since he began his professional MMA career and often weighs in at 170-171 pounds. However, Buckley’s performance in the welterweight category has seen 100% wins. 

Standing 5 feet and 8 inches tall, ‘New Mansa’ has the ability to exploit his extended reach of 76 inches. Even though ‘Chaos’ is taller than Buckley, measuring 5-ft-11, he has a shorter reach of 72 inches. While Buckley stands at an advantage with his reach, he simply cannot underestimate his opponent’s fighting skills. Age is also a concern for Covington. Being 36 years old, ‘Chaos’ might have a smaller gas tank than his 30-year-old opponent. 

But their fighting styles lie in completely different lands. While Buckley is a focused striker, Covington relies more on his grappling. The 36-year-old has the record for second most takedowns in the history of the UFC WW division with 69 takedowns. Buckley, relying on his striking, often lands 4.13 hits per minute. But Covington didn’t fall behind in this aspect. On average, he lands 3.88 strikers in a minute. 

But what about their record? Let’s take a look at how the welterweight fighters have performed in their previous matches.

Buckley vs. Covington: record, losses, and other stat comparisons

Following his disappointing loss to Chris Curtis at UFC 282, Buckley moved to the 170-pound division and fought Andre Fialho in 2023. With just 45 seconds left to finish the second round, he sent a head kick that brought Fialho down. Even Alex Moreno, Vicente Luque, Nursulton Ruziboev, and Stephen Thompson weren’t able to stand up straight against him. ‘New Mansa’ often strives to claim a win via KO/TKO, and that’s the reason why he has 14 out of 20 wins via KO/TKO. However, he has also faced defeat in 6 of his fights. 

Covington would step into UFC on ESPN 63 with a 1-fight losing streak. His last bout was against Leon Edwards, who defeated ‘Chaos’ via unanimous decision and cost him the chance to wear the WW belt. Even his previous two title fights resulted in a loss for the Floridan. Despite his age and a longer period of activity in the MMA realm, Covington has fought comparatively lesser bouts. He has won 3 fights by KO/TKO, 5 by submissions, and 9 by decisions. This puts Covington at the risk of getting KOed at UFC on ESPN 63. 

The fight with ‘Chaos’ on the 14th of December would be Buckley’s first-ever main event fight. But Covington has fought significantly more 25-minute bouts. This certainly puts ‘New Mansa’ at a disadvantage. As many of you might already know, Covington’s cardio is highly respected in the UFC community. The fight might end with either Buckley securing an early KO, or Covington extending the bout to all 5 rounds and winning by decision or TKO via ground and pound. At least, Gilbert Burns believes so.

Do you have any predictions for the main event on 14th December? Who do you think would win, based on the stats comparison? Drop down to the comments below and keep the conversation flowing.