Dana White didn’t see a fire of outrage from Colby Covington when the doctor waved off Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 63 main event with Joaquin Buckley.
Former interim welterweight champion Covington (17-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) returned from a one-year layoff at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., and was cut open on the right eyelid by Buckley (22-6 MMA, 11-4 UFC) in the opening round. He attempted to battle through it, but the blood and damage only got worse as the fight wore on, and after multiple checks, the cageside physician said no more during the third round.
It’s the first time Covington has lost consecutive fights in his MMA career, and White said he thinks “Chaos” understood the reality of how this one came to an end.
“Listen, Colby’s an older guy that fights every once in a while,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters post-fight at UFC on ESPN 63. “He’s always durable and he’s always tough. … I also feel like Colby wasn’t too pissed that fight got stopped by the cut. It was definitely bothering him.
“It was definitely bothering him, and as soon as the corner would fix it, he would walk back out and rips it open again and makes it start bleeding again. That alone tells you that the cut was bothering him big time.”
Despite his observation about the lack of protest from Covington, 36, over the stoppage, White said he thought it wouldn’t have gotten that way if the event was held in UFC’s home base of Nevada. Nevertheless, White gave credit to Covington for competing through adversity for as long as he did.
“No doubt that was a bad cut, but that fight doesn’t get stopped in Vegas,” White said. “That fight keeps going in Vegas – 100 percent (it would’ve kept going).
“Love him or hate him, the guy’s a dog – tough as nails. (He) took big shots to the body, took big shots to the head that would’ve knocked a lot of people out. Colby’s durable and tough, but when you get cut, anything can happen.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 63.
