Joaquin Buckley stood tall in the final UFC main event of 2024 this past Saturday night at the Amalie Arena in Tampa.
With his sixth consecutive win at welterweight, "New Mansa" looked to be at his very best against Colby Covington.
Covington may have stepped in on a few weeks notice after Ian Machado Garry moved into the co-main event of UFC 310 but "Chaos" looked a step behind at all times.
Buckley's striking and takedown defence was winning him the fight and after his opponent suffered a cut right above his right eye early on in the fight, the injury was continuing to get worse which led to the doctor stopping the contest in the third round.
In his post-fight interview, the winner thanked Michael Bisping for his kind words and issued an apology to the fans in attendance:
"I appreciate that. Hey Tampa, I know that wasn't the fight that y'all really wanted. I know we spilled a little blood but I know y'all wanted to see a knockout man so my bad y'all. I should have hurried up in the first round and got that for y'all, my bad."
Bisping then asked who Buckley wants next off the back of defeating a former interim champion but before moving on to the next challenge, he took a moment to be grateful.
"To be honest with you man, I got to thank God first for putting me right here and really kind of blessing me for me to chase my dreams dog and not only chase my dreams but give me the confidence to chase cuz now, I can provide for my family bro. I can take care of my grandmother, I can give my kids a life I never had man so it's a beautiful situation. God is good, I got a beautiful team with me right now. Brick by brick we built this team dog and y'all going to see this team turned up by next year."
Buckley then said that rather than him picking his next opponent, he would let the fans in Tampa decide for him by cheering for one of three options.
The crowd appeared to pick Kamaru Usman over Leon Edwards and the current champion, Belal Muhammad.
Watch the full interview below:
