Here You Can Watch UFC FightNight Covington vs. Buckley 12/14/24 - December 14th 2024 Full Show Online Replay, UFC FightNight Covington vs. Buckley 12/14/24 Full Show Live Online, Stay tuned with us to get more.
UFC FightNight Covington vs. Buckley December 14th 2024 Preview.
The final UFC Fight Night of 2024 takes place tonight with a welterweight bout between Colby Covington and Joaquin Buckley headlining the card. UFC odds have Buckley as a -280 favorite, with the former title challenger Covington coming back at +210. Here are my best free UFC Fight Night: Covington vs Buckley predictions for December 14, from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
Saturday’s action begins in the strawweight division as Josefine Knutsson and Piera Rodriguez kick off the festivities in what should be an entertaining scrap in the 115-pound ranks. The 28-year-old Knutsson has earned back-to-back wins to begin her UFC tenure, advancing to 8-0 overall with decision victories over Marnic Mann and Julia Polastri. A member of the DWCS Class of ’21, Rodriguez won her first two UFC starts as well, but has dropped each of her last two outings, and looks to close out 2024 by getting things moving in the right direction again.
Since dropping down to welterweight last year, Joaquin Buckley has won five in a row with three stoppages. In his last bout, he faced Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson in October and knocked him out in the third round to earn a Performance of the Night bonus. Meanwhile, Colby Covington hasn't fought since last December when he challenged Leon Edwards for the belt and lost by unanimous decision. It was an extremely flat performance from Covington, who showed no urgency and found himself on the backfoot while getting stuffed on eight of 10 takedown attempts. Covington is 2-3 over the last five years, with his wins coming against a washed-up Jorge Masvidal and a declining Tyron Woodley. You've got to question his hunger after coming up short in three title shots, and Buckley has been far more active, having fought 14 times since entering the UFC in 2020. Entering as the betting dog, Covington is a relentless chain-wrestler with high-volume striking and a tireless gas tank. That said, Buckley also throws at a high volume and has underrated wrestling ability with eight total takedowns and more than nine minutes of control time over his last two fights. Buckley is also more athletic and powerful and will have a significant advantage in the striking department. That's enough for me to back him against an aging and inactive Covington.
Buckley is an explosive striker with heavy hands and powerful kicks. That said, he was unable to finish Nursulton Ruziboev or Alex Morono during his recent five-fight win streak. He won't find it easy to finish Covington, who has only been knocked out once in his career — a late fifth-round TKO against Usman. Eight of Covington's last 10 fights went the distance and the two that ended via stoppage did so in the fifth round. Covington does a good job of neutralizing offense with his suffocating pressure and Buckley has never faced a wrestler of his caliber. You have to go back a couple of years to when his defensive wrestling was tested, as Buckley was taken to the ground twice and controlled for almost four minutes by Nassourdine Imavov, while Abdul Razak Alhassan also went 3-for-4 on takedown attempts. Although Buckley has never shown issues with cardio, he's also never gone past three rounds or taken on a cardio machine like Covington, who can drain energy with his non-stop wrestling. If Covington can weather the early storm, he should be able to drag this fight to the final bell.
Veteran featherweights Cub Swanson and Billy Quarantillo will share the cage in Tampa in what promises to be an action-packed fight for as long as it lasts. Fighting for the second time this year, Swanson returns to action looking to rebound from a split decision loss to Andre Fili back in June. The now 41-year-old fan favorite and UFC Hall of Fame member has remained competitive into this late stage of his career, and scored a Fight of the Night bonus the last time the Octagon was set up inside Amalie Arena for his win over Kron Gracie. An all-action fighter through and through, “Billy Q” has alternated wins and losses over his last eight appearances, all of which were tough assignments that featured highlight reel moments. He was submitted by the returning Youssef Zalal in his first appearance of the year, and will look to keep the pattern intact through one more fight as he aims to rebound here. Neither of these two men are capable of being in a boring fight and pitting them against one another almost guarantees excitement once the cage door closes. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the fisticuffs when this one kicks off.
UFC FightNight Covington vs. Buckley December 14th 2024 Match Card.
Prelims – 7 PM ET
- Lightweight Michael Johnson vs. Ottman Azaitar
- Lightweight Joel Álvarez vs. Drakkar Klose
- Featherweight Sean Woodson vs. Fernando Padilla
- Featherweight Miles Johns vs. Felipe Lima
- Women’s Flyweight Miranda Maverick vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth
- Bantamweight Davey Grant vs. Ramon Taveras
- Women’s Strawweight Josefine Lindgren Knutsson vs. Piera Rodriguez
Main Card – 10 PM ET
- Welterweight Colby Covington vs. Joaquin Buckley
- Featherweight Cub Swanson vs. Billy Quarantillo
- Flyweight Manel Kape vs. Bruno Gustavo da Silva
- Light Heavyweight Vitor Petrino vs. Dustin Jacoby
- Bantamweight Adrian Yañez vs. Daniel Marcos
- Light Heavyweight Navajo Stirling vs. Tuco Tokkos
EVENT INFO :
- Location: Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
