Colby Covington claims headbutt caused fight-ending cut in UFC Tampa loss to Joaquin Buckley

Colby Covington thinks under different circumstances, he would have gotten his hand raised at UFC on ESPN 63.

Covington (17-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) suffered a third-round doctor stoppage TKO to Joaquin Buckley (21-6 MMA, 11-4 UFC) last month at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. Covington was badly cut on his right eyelid early in the fight, which eventually forced doctors to intervene and stop the contest.

If it weren’t for his cut ending the fight, Covington thinks Buckley was starting to slow down by Round 3.

“The fight, you know, we were just getting warmed up,” Covington said on his YouTube channel. “Everybody knows I’m a fourth and fifth-round fighter, I just get started in those championship rounds. I could’ve finished him in that fourth and fifth round. He was breathing heavy, he didn’t have much more to offer, he wasn’t going to be able to have much volume in those last rounds so, I feel like I was going to be able to take over in that fight. It was a close competitive fight.

“He didn’t outclass me, he didn’t drop me, he didn’t really hurt me. There was a little cut that happened. I rewatched the film, it was like minute two, and it was like a headbutt right off his hip or something. But, it wasn’t from a punch. That’s the only thing that really limited my potential to be at 100 percent. It’s unfortunate that DEI doctor stopped the fight early. I feel like the fight was just getting started, and there was a lot more that needed to be settled in there.”

Covington has now lost two-straight fights for the first time in his career. He called for a matchup against former title challenger Gilbert Burns, who agreed to the idea.