Colby Covington breaks silence on "unfortunate" UFC Tampa stoppage against Joaquin Buckley: "The doctor is the one that beat me"

Colby Covington has opened up on his stoppage defeat against Joaquin Buckley in the main event of UFC Tampa, which took place in Tampa, Florida, on Dec. 14, 2024. 'Chaos' suggested that it was unfortunate and a premature stoppage.

The ex-interim UFC welterweight champion suffered a gruesome cut over his right eye, which gradually worsened. As round three neared its end, Referee Dan Miragliotta paused the action. The octagon-side physician checked on the cut and deemed that Covington mustn't continue, lest he could lose his eyelid. Buckley thereby won via third-round TKO (doctor's stoppage).

Taking to his YouTube channel, Colby Covington vowed to return stronger than ever, adding that this is just the beginning and his best is yet to come. The 36-year-old alluded to having fought on short notice and being a company man.

Covington indicated that he was wearing Buckley down, saw him start breathing from his mouth, and felt they were one round apiece. Covington reaffirmed the stoppage was "unfortunate."

He highlighted UFC CEO and president Dana White's post-fight press conference comments, wherein White underlined that the cut wouldn't have caused a stoppage if it were in Vegas.

'Chaos' implied a headbutt caused the cut, which precipitated blurry vision and led to him seeing three images of Buckley and getting confused. Regardless, he underscored that he was unfazed by 'New Mansa's' best shots and could've continued but the doctor stopped it prematurely:

"I'm a warrior. We're gladiators. So I'm not gonna stop. I've had way worse in fights than a little cut over my eye. So it's unfortunate that the doctor stopped the fight like that because if we were in Vegas, I know that the fight gets to keep going. I feel like I was really just starting to gain momentum, like I was starting to wear. I could see him breathing out of his mouth. It wasn't as much volume, at that point."

'Chaos' added:

"So I feel like it was going to be my fight in the championship rounds. So it was an unfortunate stop. And, you know, I feel like judges -- not the judges, but the doctor is the one that beat me tonight. I didn't feel like I lost to another opponent."

Watch Colby Covington's assessment below:

Watch behind-the-scenes footage and Covington discuss the topic below:

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Colby Covington made waves by accusing referee Marc Goddard after his UFC title defeat against Kamaru Usman

Colby Covington's supporters have often argued that he's had unfortunate incidents affect some of his biggest fights' outcomes. Covington, who lost a back-and-forth fight via fifth-round TKO to then-welterweight kingpin Kamaru Usman in Dec. 2019, often cites that matchup as an example.

Speaking to James Lynch a few years ago, Colby Covington claimed that referee Marc Goddard gave Usman a break during pivotal moments but didn't extend the same courtesy to him due to their political differences. 'Chaos' noted that there'd be a different referee for their rematch:

"Without Marc Goddard being in there -- the anti-Brexit fool, who is literally hating on me and calling calls against me because he doesn't like who I support and what I support."

Nevertheless, Covington lost the rematch too, falling to Usman via unanimous decision in Nov. 2021. 'Chaos' is 2-3 in his last five fights dating back to Sept. 2020.