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Michael Bisping believes Joaquin Buckley was one step ahead of Colby Covington in every way at UFC on ESPN 63.
Covington (17-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) suffered a TKO loss to Buckley (21-6 MMA, 11-4 UFC) after sustaining a cut to his right side in Saturday’s main event at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida ). The eyelid eventually affected his vision.
Bisping praises Covington for taking the fight on three weeks’ notice against a dangerous competitor in Buckley.
“Colby Covington, fair play, I respect him,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “He jumped up at short notice, wanted to defend his place, wanted to prove that he was ready to take on young, up-and-coming competitors. But tonight wasn’t his night.”
However, Bisping hit the former title challenger with a harsh reality. Although Covington appeared to get back to his feet in Round 3 before the fight was stopped, Bisping believes Buckley was on the right track all along.
“He wasn’t good enough, he wasn’t fast enough, he wasn’t powerful enough in wrestling,” Bisping continued. “Joaquin Buckley just took him apart, beat him up early on and gave him a cut right on his eyelid.”
“…It was a really good performance. Now granted, Colby Covington had more success in wrestling as the fight went on. But his face was a mess. He was dismembered by Joaquin Buckley.”
Buckley talked about not getting enough credit for his rise up the welterweight rankings, and Bisping could sense that in his demeanor.
“Buckley is a powerful man, and he’s a bad son of a bitch,” Bisping said. “He was in good spirits all week. He had a real chip on his shoulder and he’s using that to strengthen himself, okay? Some people don’t necessarily want that negative energy.”
“But Joaquin Buckley, listen: all day long, the negative energy, whatever you want to call it, gets results in the octagon. He’s clearly working his ass off. He stopped most of the takedowns and found Colby Covington on his feet.”
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For more information on the card, check out MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 63.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Michael Bisping: Colby Covington wasn’t fast enough or strong enough for Joaquin Buckley at UFC on ESPN 63
