Joaquin Buckley has had an incredible year in the Octagon, picking up the biggest win of his career and knocking out regular title challenger Cole in the third round Colby Covington, closing out the UFC’s 2024 slate.
The game ended somewhat anticlimactically, with the game stopped by the sideline doctor with 18 seconds left in Game 3 due to a gnarly cut over Covington’s right eye, but make no mistake – this was the first game in 30 games outstanding performance. Years old Buckley.
Barkley took full advantage of his superior speed, power and striking ability against Covington while getting the former interim champion’s first two knockout attempts. While Covington was able to get him to the canvas in the second and struggled to the top in the third after Barkley chased a triangle choke, the damage was one-sided and there was no doubt who was better inside. Good people. Saturday night in the Octagon in Tampa.
With the win, Buckley improves to 4-0 on the year and 6-0 since moving to welterweight last year, establishing himself as a legitimate threat in the process. He asked the crowd to help him decide who his next opponent would be, and he earned the biggest response when he faced off against former champion Kamaru Usman, who was in attendance.
Whether it’s Usman, Leon Edwards, or his original opponent this weekend, Ian Machado-Gary, there’s no doubt that Barkley should have a prominent name and presence on the fight card whenever he returns to action. Prime position. It was a hard work from start to finish and a breakthrough event for New Mansa as a whole.
‘Killer Cub’ Wins
After two rounds of back-and-forth fighting, Cub Swanson ended his co-main event clash with Billy Quarantillo in emphatic fashion, with a laser-aimed A right hook followed with a left hook to the chin, knocking the local man to the ground. canvas.
It was a classic game for the 41-year-old Swanson, who has talked all week about Saturday’s game possibly being his last. He was sharp from the start, taking the fight to Quarantillo from the jump and dealing with hard shots throughout, then opening fight-ending combos and staying on top of his fallen opponent. superior.
He mentioned after the game that he told his wife this could be his last game, but stopped short of officially calling it a career. In recent years, Swanson has increasingly turned to coaching and managing athletes, but after winning a “Fight of the Night” match against Andre Fili and defeating “Billy Q” earlier this year, it was clear that Swanson still has the ability to deliver entertaining performances inside the octagon.
If it does become the finale, you’d be hard-pressed to come up with a better final moment for “Killer Cub” than an absolute barn-burner brought down with a highlight reel.
Kapp calls for title fight
Manel Kape Begins Lobbying UFC CEO Dana White to Move to Flyweight Between Second and Third Rounds of Fight with Bruno Silva Championship opportunity. When White told him he had business to attend to, “Starboy” strode out, stopped Silva less than two minutes into the final frame, then used the microphone to curse out some opponents and publicly declare that he was The man who destroyed the defending champion. Champion Alexander Pantoja.
It was a complete Kapp experience from start to finish, with the flashy striker getting into his groove early, beating up Silva and having fun while doing so. Even after facing not one, not two, but three low blows, the 31-year-old remained playful and continued to fight Silva until he finally finished the fight.
Kapp is the first Rizin fighter to make the move to the Octagon, making his debut a little more than a year after defeating recent title challenger Kai Asakura in the second round. He lost to Pantoja in his debut and then fell into a controversial split decision against Matheus Nicolau. Just when things were going well for him, he laid an egg on Mohammad Mokaev at UFC 304, dropping a decision that ended his four-fight win streak.
He has all the traits to be a possible title challenger, but he may have more work to do before he has a chance to fight for the title with Pantoja. Saturday’s effort should set up a matchup with another ranked fighter, and a similar effort could push him into title contention.
Lightweight Contender Alert
Joel Alvarez is one to watch in the 2025 light heavyweight division.
“El Fenomeno” knocked out veteran Drakkar Klose in the first round on Saturday, landing a flying knee on the fence before forcing a timeout with a flurry of punches to give the Spaniard the lead. Here comes the second victory this year and four consecutive victories. .
Alvarez has a 100% completion rate — 22 wins, 22 stops — and a seven-win record since being knocked out by Damir Ismagulov in his promotion debut With 1 loss, No. 1 contender and upcoming title challenger Arman Tsarukyan was the only one to have a better finish than his. His length and diverse skillset make him a dangerous threat to anyone in this division, and after two fantastic wins this year, Alvarez will enter next year as a true dark horse in the lightweight division. .
While he is currently outside the rankings, one look at the divisional hierarchy shows a number of fighters in the twilight of their careers, as well as some exciting potential matchups for the versatile Spaniard. Alvarez was outstanding on Saturday night in Tampa, dominating and finishing Klose and is poised to continue making waves next year.
Towards 2025
Sean Woodson, Felipe Lima and Miranda Maverick all scored wins in Saturday’s preliminary rounds to set the stage for the 2024 season inside the Octagon A perfect end to the season.
Woodson scored his third win of the year, knocking out Fernando Padilla in the final seconds of the first round, improving his overall UFC record to 7-1-1. The towering featherweight has used his range and smooth boxing skills brilliantly to score impressive wins over Charles Jordan and Alex Caceres that will see him Facing a ranked opponent in 2025.
Lima returned to action in Tampa for his second straight win and 14th straight victory in the UFC after scoring a third-round submission victory in his short-lived promotional debut in June.
Partnered with Miles Johns in a featherweight bout, “Jungle Boy” was the more polished and prolific of the two, outscoring Marathon MMA reps in all three rounds to win on the count Sweep on the card. He should return to bantamweight next year and look to be a noticeable presence in the 135-pound division.
Maverick made it four straight on Saturday night, defeating Canada’s Jamey-Lyn Horth by a combined score of 29-28 to end the season 3-0.
The 27-year-old flyweight remains a fringe top-15 enigma. An elite athlete with positive results, Maverick often feels like he’s on the verge of making a leap, but that hasn’t happened yet. After failing in two different fights against Tracy Cortez this year, she has been eager for a chance to face a ranked opponent and is 6-1 in her last seven fights. Grades, she should get this opportunity sooner rather than later.
An uneven year for Canadians is coming to an end
Canadians have had mixed results in the 2024 Octagon, with Squamish, B.C.’s Hawes losing a unanimous decision to Maverick on Saturday night in Tampa, where 11 athletes competing in the Octagon combined have achieved A record of 15 wins and 12 losses.
Three players have combined for eight of those 15 wins, with Jasmine Jasudavicius and Gillian Robertson both recording three wins in as many starts, Aiemann Zahabi picked up two more big wins and became the only male boxer to go the year without a setback. All three have finished in the top 15 in their respective divisions this year, and Jasudavicius has booked a pivotal fight with recent bantamweight title challenger Mayra Bueno Silva fight, and she will return to flyweight in February in Saudi Arabia.
Although results have been mixed, things are moving in the right direction.
The UFC returns to Edmonton in early November as bantamweight prospect Serhiy Sidey gets his first win inside the Octagon and Charles Jourdain submits Victor Henry Victor Henry announced that he will be a new addition to the division, while welterweight Mike Malott Gaining some positive momentum again following setbacks earlier in the year, Zahabi and Jasudavicius also recorded quality wins.
