Liontips
Colby Covington vs. Joaquin Buckley. Fight Prediction
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight Colby Covington will face Joaquin Buckley. The fight will take place on December 15 as part of the UFC on ESPN 63 tournament in Tampa at the Amalie Arena, a multi-purpose arena that is the home stadium of the Tampa Bay Lightning NHL club and holds about 20,000 spectators. The fight is expected to start at 07:40 Moscow time. Will the American be able to succeed in the fight with his compatriot and what bets should he choose? — read our forecast
Command Analysis
Colby Covington
USACurrent form
Before joining MMA, Colby Covington was quite successful in wrestling as a student and won several national championships. In his later years, he became a world champion in grappling. The American came to MMA in 2012 and before the UFC, he showed excellent results in various American promotions. He suffered his first defeat in his career in Dana White league. Chaos has lost his last two out of three fights.
In the previous one in December 2023, he lost to Englishman Leon Edwards (unanimous decision), but before that he defeated his compatriot Jorge Masvidal (unanimous) and lost to Kamaru Usman (unanimous) from Nigeria. The 36-year-old Covington has 17 wins (two by knockout, nine by decision, six by submission) and four losses. The fighter from California is ranked sixth in the division.
Latest news
Covington revealed which opponent he hates the most.
“Definitely Marty Jusman,” Covington said. “Because he’s a cheater and a coward. He’s definitely cheated a few times in our fights, so I just can’t respect a guy who cheats in a fight. I’ve never cheated. I’ve done everything right. I didn’t take the easy way out, I didn’t ask for favors, I took the longest, hardest way.”
Interesting trends for betting
Covington takedown success rate is 44 percent.
Joaquin Buckley
USACurrent form
Joaquin Buckley has been involved in mixed martial arts throughout his entire professional sports career. Before signing a contract with Dana White league in the summer of 2020, the American tried his hand at local promotions Bellator and Legacy Fighting Alliance, but never became a champion. In the UFC, the fighter from Missouri did not start very successfully, but then gradually corrected the situation. New Mansa won his last five fights in a row. In October 2024, he defeated his compatriot Stephen Thompson (knockout, third round). And before that, Nursulton Ruziboev (unanimous) from Uzbekistan and Brazilian Vicente Luque (technical knockout, second round). The American is ranked ninth in the division. 30-year-old Buckley has 20 wins (14 by knockout, six by decision) and six losses.
Latest news
Buckley made it clear that Colby would be holding his "swan concert" in Tampa on Saturday night, promising to "retire" the controversial fighter once and for all. Fans seem to be excited about the plan, leaving comments like: "I think I speak for everyone: please do this." One fan called on "New Mansa" to send Covington back to streaming, writing: "Send his ass to Twitch." Another fan was inspired by Buckley words: "Notice how he said, 'We're going to knock Colby out.'" The only way for Buckley to be the favorite, this fan believes, is to win in as brutal a manner as possible: "Will be in the top 5 of all time if he does that. But it has to be brutal. Anything else sucks."
Interesting trends for betting
Buckley takedown success rate is 54 percent.
Trends
Bet Buckley wins by knockout
Buckley knockout win rate is 70 percent.
2.65Tip and bets
Bookmakers' analysts consider Buckley a clear favorite of the upcoming fight. In their opinion, Covington will have very little chance of success. And that true. Colby hasn't entered the octagon for exactly a year, and without competitive practice at that age it hard to maintain optimal shape. Joaquin, on the other hand, has gained great momentum and is crushing his opponents without any problems. And this time he should achieve victory.
Our prediction is an early victory for Buckley at 2.35
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