Buckley closes 2024 with biggest win of career at UFC Fight Night

Joaquin Buckley wrapped up an incredible year in the Octagon with the biggest win of his career, closing out the UFC’s 2024 slate with a third-round stoppage win over frequent title challenger Colby Covington.

The ending was somewhat anticlimactic, with the bout being halted by the ringside physician with 18 seconds remaining in the third due to a gnarly cut over the right eye of Covington, but make no mistake about it — this was a standout performance from the 30-year-old Buckley.

Buckley took the fight to Covington out of the gates, taking full advantage of his superior speed, power, and striking prowess while stuffing the first two takedown attempts of the former interim champion. While Covington was able to get him to the canvas in the second, and work to top position in the third after Buckley chased a triangle choke, the damage was one-sided and there was never any doubt as to who was the better man inside the Octagon on Saturday night in Tampa.

With the win, Buckley moved to 4-0 this year and 6-0 since transitioning 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 should be, with a matchup against former champ Kamaru Usman, who was in attendance, earning the loudest response.

Whether it’s Usman, Leon Edwards, or even his original opponent for this weekend, Ian Machado Garry, there is no question that Buckley should land a marquee name and a prime position on the fight card whenever he returns to action. This was a sharp effort from start to finish, and a breakout campaign for “New Mansa” overall.

‘KILLER CUB’ COLLECTS WALK-OFF WIN

After two rounds of back-and-forth action, Cub Swanson ended his co-main event clash with Billy Quarantillo in emphatic fashion, following a corralling left hook with a laser-targeted right hand that found the chin and sent the local man crashing to the canvas.

This was a vintage showing for the 41-year-old Swanson, who spoke throughout the week about Saturday’s bout potentially being his last. He was sharp from the outset, taking the fight to Quarantillo from the jump, and did well to deal with the big shots that came back his way throughout before uncorking the fight-ending combination and standing over his felled opponent.

He mentioned after the fight that he told his wife that it might be his final fight, but didn’t officially call it a career. Swanson has been transitioning more and more into coaching and managing athletes in recent years, but after earning Fight of the Night with Andre Fili earlier this year and walking it off against "Billy Q," it’s clear that Swanson is still capable of putting forth entertaining performances inside the Octagon.

If it does end up being the end, you’ll be hard-pressed to concoct a better final moment for “Killer Cub” than an absolute barnburner that wrapped with a highlight reel knockout.

KAPE CALLS FOR A TITLE FIGHT

Manel Kape started lobbying UFC CEO Dana White for a flyweight title opportunity in between the second and third rounds of his fight with Bruno Silva. When White told him he still had business to handle, “Starboy” marched out, stopped Silva less than two minutes into the final frame, and then used his time on the microphone to cuss out some rivals and publicly declare himself the one to destroy reigning champ Alexandre Pantoja.

This was the complete Kape experience from start to finish, as the flamboyant striker got into his flow early, battering Silva and having fun while doing so. Even after dealing with not one, not two, but three low blows, the 31-year-old was still playful, continuing to take the fight to Silva until he finally secured the finish.

Kape was the first Rizin standout to migrate to the Octagon, debuting a little more than a year after a second-round stoppage win over recent title challenger Kai Asakura. He dropped a decision to Pantoja in his debut, then landed on the unhappy side of a debated split decision in a bout with Matheus Nicolau. Just when he had things rolling, he laid an egg against Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 304, dropping a decision that halted his four-fight winning streak.

He has all the markings of a possible title challenger, but likely has a little more work to do before getting an opportunity to run things back with Pantoja with the title on the line. Saturday’s effort should set up a matchup with another ranked fighter, and a similar effort there could elevate him into the title conversation.

LIGHTWEIGHT CONTENDER ALERT

Joel Alvarez is a name to watch in the lightweight division heading into 2025.

“El Fenomeno” posted a first-round finish of veteran Drakkar Klose on Saturday, connecting with a flying knee along the fence before ripping off a string of punches that forced the stoppage, giving the Spaniard a second win this year and fourth straight victory overall.

Alvarez has a 100 per cent finishing rate — 22 wins, 22 stoppages — and has gone 7-1 since dropping his promotional debut to Damir Ismagulov, with No. 1 contender and impending title challenger Arman Tsarukyan standing as the only person to get the better of him. His length and diverse array of skills make him a dangerous threat against anyone in the division, and after posting a pair of highlight reel wins this year, Alvarez heads into next year as a legitimate dark horse in the lightweight division.

While he’s currently on the outside of the rankings looking in, a glance at the divisional hierarchy shows a number of fighters in the twilight of their careers and a number of exciting potential matchups for the all-action Spaniard. Alvarez looked outstanding on Saturday night in Tampa, dominating and finishing Klose, and is poised to continue making waves next year.

HEADING INTO 2025 ON A HIGH

Sean Woodson, Felipe Lima, and Miranda Maverick all earned victories on Saturday’s prelims to close out perfect 2024 campaigns inside the Octagon.

Woodson picked up his third win of the year in style, finishing Fernando Padilla in the waning seconds of the opening round to move to 7-1-1 overall in the UFC. The towering featherweight makes exceptional use of his range and slick boxing skills, and capping a year that also includes wins over Charles Jourdain and Alex Caceres with an impressive finish should put him in position to face a ranked opponent in 2025.

After securing a third-round submission win in his short-notice promotional debut back in June, Lima returned to action in Tampa and wrapped up a second straight UFC victory and 14th consecutive win overall.

Paired off with Miles Johns in a featherweight contest, “Jungle Boy” was the more polished and prolific of the two, out-working the Marathon MMA representative across all three rounds to earn a clean sweep of the scorecards. He should head back to bantamweight next year, and is poised to be an intriguing presence in the 135-pound ranks.

Maverick closed out a 3-0 year by registering her fourth consecutive victory on Saturday night, edging out durable Canadian Jamey-Lyn Horth with 29-28 scores across the board.

The 27-year-old flyweight continues to be an enigmatic presence on the fringes of the Top 15. A quality athlete garnering positive results, it often feels like Maverick is on the cusp of making a leap, but it hasn’t happened yet. She’s been eagerly seeking a chance to face a ranked opponent after two different bouts with Tracy Cortez fell apart this year, and with a 6-1 mark over her last seven fights, she should get that opportunity sooner, rather than later.

AN UNEVEN YEAR FOR CANADIANS COMES TO AN END

Canadians had mixed results inside the Octagon in 2024, with the 11 athletes that made the walk combining to produce a 15-12 record overall after Squamish, B.C.’s Horth dropped a unanimous decision to Maverick on Saturday night in Tampa.

Three competitors combined to produce eight of those 15 victories, as both Jasmine Jasudavicius and Gillian Robertson posted three wins in as many starts, with Aiemann Zahabi adding a pair of big wins to stand as the lone male fighter to navigate the year without a setback. All three wrap up the year stationed inside the Top 15 in their respective divisions, with Jasudavicius already booked into a critical matchup with recent bantamweight title challenger Mayra Bueno Silva in her return to the flyweight division in February in Saudi Arabia.

Despite the uneven results, things are trending in the right direction.

The UFC’s return to Edmonton at the start of November saw bantamweight prospect Serhiy Sidey claim his first victory inside the Octagon, Charles Jourdain announced his presence as an intriguing new addition to the division by submitting Victor Henry, and welterweight Mike Malott get some positive momentum again following a stumble earlier in the year, as well as Zahabi and Jasudavicius earning quality wins.