Pools of blood on the Octagon floor provided proof of Joaquin
Buckley’s dominance.
“New Mansa” moved ever closer to title contention in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight division, as he
stopped Colby
Covington on a cut in the third round of their
UFC on ESPN 63 main event on Saturday at Amalie Arena in Tampa,
Florida. Referee Dan Miragliotta waved it off on the advice of the
cageside physician 4:42 into Round 3.
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A late replacement for Ian Garry,
Covington (17-5, 12-5 UFC) encountered immediate difficulty.
Buckley (21-6, 11-4 UFC) hacked open a cut on his right eyelid with
a slashing uppercut in the first round and turned up the heat from
there. Power punching combinations paired with excellent takedown
defense paved the way to the most significant victory of his
career. The wound grew in size and depth as the minutes passed, and
Covington was warned after the second round that the fight was on
the verge of being halted. Buckley continued to target the cut, and
after the two men separated from a ground exchange late in Round 3,
Miragliotta called in the doctor to examine it. She advised the
veteran referee that Covington was in danger of “losing his
eyelid,” resulting in the stoppage.
Buckley, 30, has won six fights in a row, four of them
finishes.
Meanwhile, World Extreme Cagefighting holdover Cub Swanson
disposed of Billy
Quarantillo with punches in the third round of their
featherweight co-headliner and then hinted at potential retirement.
Quarantillo (18-7, 6-5 UFC) bowed out 1:36 into Round 3, losing for
the third time in four fights.
The 41-year-old Swanson (30-14, 15-10 UFC) tuned up the onetime
King of the Cage champion with powerful leg kicks and right hands
over the top through much of the first round. However, the
notoriously durable Quarantillo regrouped in his corner and came
out for the middle stanza with renewed vigor and resolve. He
crowded Swanson with punches, secured a takedown and piled up
points in the clinch, utilizing everything from hammerfists to the
thigh and shoulder strikes to short punches and foot stomps. The
outcome was still in doubt as they entered Round 3. Swanson dug in
his heels, connected with a left hook and followed it with a
searing right cross that put down “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 22
alum. No follow-up shots were required.
Swanson has won five of his past eight bouts.
Further down the main card, former Rizin Fighting Federation
champion Manel Kape
disposed of Bruno Silva
with a body kick and follow-up punches in the third round of their
flyweight showcase.
Silva (14-6-2, 4-3 UFC) succumbed to blows 1:57 into Round 3, his
four-fight winning streak at an end.
Kape (20-7, 5-3 UFC) dialed up blindingly fast combinations from
both hands and weathered three low blows, the last of which cost
his American Top Team-trained opponent a point in the second round.
Silva grew increasingly desperate down the stretch, leaving himself
open and vulnerable against a man with breathtaking fast-twitch
athleticism. Kape fired a kick to the body—replays showed it may
have strayed south of the border—some 90 seconds into the third
round and forced the Brazilian to retreat. From there, he hit the
accelerator, cut loose with power punches and drove Silva to a
seated position at the base of the fence to force the stoppage.
The 31-year-old Kape has rattled off five wins across his past six
outings.
Elsewhere, Factory X standout Dustin
Jacoby punched out 2022 Dana White’s Contender Series graduate
Vitor
Petrino in the third round of their light heavyweight feature.
Jacoby (20-9-1, 8-6-1 UFC) drew the curtain 3:44 into Round 3, as
he rebounded from back-to-back losses to Alonzo
Menifield and Dominick
Reyes.
Issues with output plagued both competitors up until the finish.
Jacoby blocked a flying knee late in the third round, reset and
lured the Brazilian into his trap.
He stepped into a lightning bolt of a right cross that nearly
turned around Petrino (11-2, 4-2 UFC) and sent him crashing to the
canvas. Jacoby snuck in a few more shots on the unconscious CM
System export before the stoppage was called.
It was the first third-round finish of Jacoby’s 30-fight
career.
Deeper into the draw, unbeaten American Combat Gym product Daniel
Marcos eked out a split decision over Adrian
Yanez in a hotly contested three-round bantamweight attraction.
Judges Derek Cleary and Eric Colon scored it 30-27 and 29-28 for
Marcos, while Chris Lee saw it 29-28 for Yanez.
Neither man managed to gain much separation in a well-made match
marked by fits and starts. Marcos (17-0, 4-0 UFC) leaned on a
mixture of clubbing overhand rights, leg kicks and sweeping hooks
from both hands. A short-notice replacement for Said
Nurmagomedov, Yanez (17-6, 6-3 UFC) landed the most
consequential blow of the bout—he buckled the former 300 Sparta
champion with a counter left hook in the second round—but failed to
string together enough offense to fully turn the tide in his favor.
Marcos surprised the Yves Edwards
protégé with two takedowns in Round 3, bled valuable time off the
clock and held his own in the standup exchanges.
Yanez, 31, has lost three of his last four fights.
Finally, undefeated City Kickboxing prospect Navajo
Stirling kept his perfect professional record intact with a
unanimous decision over George
Tokkos in their three-round light heavyweight appetizer. All
three cageside judges scored it 30-27 for Stirling (6-0, 1-0
UFC).
Tokkos (10-5, 0-2 UFC) was out of his depth on the feet and failed
to consolidate either of his completed takedowns with damage or
control. Stirling applied constant pressure from the center of the
cage and attacked the body with punches and kicks, slowly but
surely wearing down the Kill Cliff Fight Club rep. Tokkos ran out
of gas in the third round. There, Stirling stonewalled his takedown
attempts and battered him with multi-strike combinations that were
often punctuated by jarring kicks to the head, arms and body.
It was the first decision loss for Tokkos in more than five
years.
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