UFC on ESPN: Covington vs. Buckley

UFC on ESPN: Covington vs. Buckley (also known as UFC on ESPN 63) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 14, 2024, at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, United States.^[2][3]

UFC on ESPN: Covington vs. Buckley
The poster for UFC on ESPN: Covington vs. Buckley
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	December 14, 2024 (2024-12-14)
Venue	Amalie Arena
City	Tampa, Florida, United States
Attendance	18,625[1]
Total gate	$3,060,000[1]
Event chronology
UFC 310: Pantoja vs. Asakura UFC on ESPN: Covington vs. Buckley UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Ribas 2

Background

The event marked the promotion's fourth visit to Tampa and first since UFC Fight Night: Joanna vs. Waterson in October 2019.^[3]

A welterweight bout between Joaquin Buckley and Ian Machado Garry was expected to headline the event.^[4] However, Garry was pulled to fight Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 a week earlier and was replaced by former interim UFC Welterweight Champion Colby Covington.^[5]

A bantamweight bout between Umar Nurmagomedov and Song Yadong was originally reported to headline the event.^[6] However, the bout never materialized due to Song being injured.^[7]

A women's flyweight bout between Tracy Cortez and Miranda Maverick was originally scheduled to take place at UFC on ESPN: Lemos vs. Jandiroba in July, but Cortez was pulled from the contest in order to serve as a replacement against former two-time UFC Women's Strawweight Champion Rose Namajunas a week earlier at UFC on ESPN: Namajunas vs. Cortez.^[8] They were then expected to meet at this event.^[9] However, Cortez was forced to withdraw due to health issues that required her to have surgery and was replaced by former LFA Women's Flyweight Champion Jamey-Lyn Horth.^[10][11]

A bantamweight bout between Said Nurmagomedov and Daniel Marcos was scheduled for this event.^[12] However, Nurmagomedov withdrew from the fight for unknown reasons and was replaced by Adrian Yañez.^[13]

A women's strawweight rematch between Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Ribas was scheduled for this event.^[14] The duo previously met at the promotion's last visit to Tampa, when Ribas won by unanimous decision.^[15] However, the bout was moved to January 11, 2025 to serve as the main event at UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Ribas 2.^[16]

Results

Main card (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Welterweight	Joaquin Buckley	def.	Colby Covington	TKO (doctor stoppage)	3	4:42
Featherweight	Cub Swanson	def.	Billy Quarantillo	KO (punch)	3	1:36
Flyweight	Manel Kape	def.	Bruno Gustavo da Silva	TKO (body kick and punches)	3	1:57	[a]
Light Heavyweight	Dustin Jacoby	def.	Vitor Petrino	KO (punch)	3	3:44
Bantamweight	Daniel Marcos	def.	Adrian Yañez	Decision (split) (28–29, 30–27, 29–28)	3	5:00
Light Heavyweight	Navajo Stirling	def.	Tuco Tokkos	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Preliminary card (ESPNews / ESPN+)
Lightweight	Michael Johnson	def.	Ottman Azaitar	KO (punch)	2	2:03
Lightweight	Joel Álvarez	def.	Drakkar Klose	KO (flying knee and punches)	1	2:48
Featherweight	Sean Woodson	def.	Fernando Padilla	TKO (punches)	1	4:58
Featherweight	Felipe Lima	def.	Miles Johns	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Women's Flyweight	Miranda Maverick	def.	Jamey-Lyn Horth	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Bantamweight	Davey Grant	def.	Ramon Taveras	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Women's Strawweight	Piera Rodríguez	def.	Josefine Lindgren Knutsson	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00

1. Silva was deducted 1 point in round 2 due to a groin strike.

^[17]

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.^[18]

• Fight of the Night: Cub Swanson vs. Billy Quarantillo
• Performance of the Night: Dustin Jacoby and Michael Johnson

See also

• 2024 in UFC
• List of current UFC fighters
• List of UFC events