12/15/24: Joaquin Buckley Ends 2024 With Stoppage Win Against Colby Covington
Also: Israel Adesanya's return set, plus PFL Europe's four new champions.
Welcome to a Sunday edition of the Knockdown Daily! Today’s issue includes a recap of UFC’s last card of 2024, a run-down of PFL’s new European champs, and news on the return of Israel Adesanya. Let’s dig in.
Joaquin Buckley Keeps Streak Rolling With Doctor Stoppage Against Colby Covington
Joaquin Buckley’s highly productive 2024 came to a close with his biggest fight to date, a performance which kept his lengthy winning streak alive and is expected to move him up a few more spots in the welterweight division’s top 10 standings.
Buckley dominated Colby Covington for nearly three full rounds before a stoppage emerged on Saturday night, closing out UFC’s 2024 schedule from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, USA and concluding an incredibly impressive 12-month stretch for the rising 170-pound fighter.
Covington’s inability to wrestle forced him into Buckley’s game plan, keeping the former interim champ in unfavorable stand-up exchanges where he consumed fight-ending damage.
In particular, it was a cut just under the right eyebrow of Covington which emerged early and developed significantly as the bout progressed, eventually forcing a doctor stoppage by the third frame.
Wrestling expert Covington wasted no time trying to get the fight to the mat, trying twice for a takedown in the opening round. However, Buckley shut down both attempts, instead keeping the fight on their feet.
While Covington finally earned his first takedown of the night by the second round, he found roughly a minute of control on the mat before the fight went back into Buckley’s wheelhouse. Near the end of the round, Buckley seemed to be only gaining momentum against the fading and bloodied vet.
Buckley got extra crafty by the third round, at one point trying for an inverted triangle choke after the fight hit the ground. Attempts to end the matchup in a flashy way no longer became available for Buckley eventually, as a doctor examined Covington’s cut and deemed him unfit to continue fighting.
Despite the highly successful outing for Buckley, the first thing he said to the live Tampa crowd was an apology for his unceremonious win.
“Tampa, I know that ain’t the fight that y’all really wanted,” Buckley said in his post-fight interview. “I know we spilled a little blood, but I know y’all wanted to see a knockout. I should have hurried up in the first round and got that for y’all, my bad.”
The dominant showing from Buckley closed out a year that saw him score four different wins, boosting his current win streak to a total of six consecutive fights. Victories earlier in 2024 saw him stop Stephen Thompson and Vicente Luque with strikes as well.
Now with a first UFC main event win under his belt, Buckley is expected to move higher in the division’s top 10. The “New Mansa” entered this weekend ranked ninth, but will likely hop over some fellow contenders after getting past sixth-place Covington.
After one big win, Buckley has quickly looked to get another high-ranked matchup. Buckley asked the Tampa crowd which of three future opponents would be most enticing for him: Leon Edwards, Kamaru Usman, or Belal Muhammad.
“I think it’s Kamaru Usman [next],” Buckey said after hearing the crowd’s cheers.
This weekend, Covington, who took the fight on a few weeks’ notice to replace Ian Machado Garry, appeared for the first time since a 2023 title loss to Leon Edwards. The controversial contender has fought at the championship level for years, but through his experience at the top has yet to see an undisputed title run.
Saturday marked Covington’s first non-championship loss since a 2015 defeat to Warlley Alves, putting him further away from the title picture than he has been in years.
Some other headlines from UFC’s last show of the year:
Cub Swanson’s (30-14) 25th UFC appearance saw him walk away with a “Fight of the Night” bonus, stopping Billy Quarantillo (18-7) in the third round with a walk-off right cross knockout. The victory put 41-year-old Swanson back into the win column following a UFC 303 split decision loss to Andre Fili.
The speedy striking of Manel Kape (20-7) allowed him to out-class rising flyweight Bruno Silva (14-6-2) through three rounds, eventually leading to a stoppage with just three minutes to go. The result slowed the momentum of Silva, who had a streak of four performance bonus-worthy stoppage wins in the UFC since 2021. The fight was also a bounce-back performance for Kape, who suffered a controversial defeat to Mohammad Mokaev earlier this year.
Stoppage wins from Dustin Jacoby (20-9-1) and Michael Johnson (23-19) earned them “Performance of the Night” bonuses worth $50,000 each. Jacoby scored a late knockout win against Vitor Petrino (11-2) in what might have been a back-against-the-wall scenario, appearing after losing four of his past five UFC bouts. Johnson, who was making his 30th UFC walk, put away Ottman Azaitar (13-3) in the second round with a violent right hook finish. Azaitar is now winless through a trio of appearances since his 2022 return.
Here are the quick results from Saturday night’s show:
Main Card (10:00PM EST) (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Bout 13: Joaquin Buckley def. Colby Covington via TKO, Stirkes (RD 3, 4:42)
Bout 12: Cub Swanson def. Billy Quarantillo via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 1:36)
Bout 11: Manel Kape def. Bruno Silva via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 1:57)
Bout 10: Dustin Jacoby def. Vitor Petrino via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 3:44)
Bout 9: Daniel Marcos def. Adrian Yanez via Decision, Split
Bout 8: Navajo Stirling def. Tuco Tokkos via Decision, Unanimous
Preliminary Card (7:00PM EST) (ESPNews / ESPN+)
Bout 7: Michael Johnson def. Ottman Azaitar via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:03)
Bout 6: Joel Alvarez def. Drakkar Klose via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:48)
Bout 5: Sean Woodson def. Fernando Padilla via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:58)
Bout 4: Felipe Lima def. Miles Johns via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Miranda Maverick def. Jamey-Lyn Horth via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Davey Grant def. Ramon Taveras via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 1: Piera Rodriguez def. Josefine Knutsson via Decision, Unanimous
Israel Adesanya To Return Against Nassourdine Imavov At February 1st UFC ‘Fight Night’
“The Stylebender” is back.
Appearing in what will be his first non-title fight in over five years, two-time former UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya is expected to face Nassourdine Imavov in early February, as announced by the promotion on Saturday.
A clash between Adesanya and Imavov will headline UFC’s February 1st “Fight Night” card from The Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The matchup offers a chance for one of the most prominent middleweight talents of the 2020s to regain his footing.
Adesanya, a fighter who has fought at the top of the 185-pound class since 2019, is coming off a pair of title fight losses from the past year and a half.
The New Zealand-based fighter’s second reign as champ proved to be short-lived in 2023, as a five-round unanimous decision loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 ended his run with the belt before a single successful retention of the title.
Due to Adesanya’s long history as a high-profile middleweight, most notably defending his championship five times after gaining undisputed champ status in 2019, the 35-year-old was given a chance to regain the title in August of this year against Dricus Du Plessis. The grudge match didn’t go Adesanya’s way, with the former champ succumbing to a fourth-round rear naked choke.
Adesanya undoubtedly is not far from the title picture, currently sitting second in the division. But before any discussions like that could be entertained, Adesanya needs to get another win under his belt.
Rising French talent Imavov will look to play spoiler for Adesanya’s return to the top in February. Imavov is coming off a trio of wins over high-ranked 185-pound fighters from 2024, putting him fifth in the divisional standings.
By the halfway point of 2024, Imavov had already beaten Roman Dolidze in a five-round majority decision and stopped Jared Cannonier in a main event bout. Only adding to his impressive run, Imavov then snapped the seven-fight winning streak of Brendan Allen, getting past him in a three-round decision result just three months back.
A win in February would further strengthen Imavov’s case for a future title shot, earning him a first-time victory over a former champ in the division.
Along with the main event clash, UFC has announced a fight between rising middleweight Shara Magomedov and veteran talent Michael Page for the co-main event of the card.
Magomedov will look to build upon his 15-fight undefeated record, which includes three different performance bonus victories from just the past year. The Russian fighter has become a fixture in UFC’s trips to the Middle East, with the promotion frequently giving him a high-up spot on their shows in Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia.
The last Magomedov appearance, a UFC 308 bout against Armen Petrosyan, saw him score a rare combo of two spinning backfist shots to win via second-round stoppage.
Long-time Bellator fighter Page will be returning after taking a decision loss to Ian Machado Garry in June. 37-year-old Page won his promotional debut back at UFC 299, beating Kevin Holland on scorecards.
PFL Crowns 2024 European Champs At Finish-Heavy Lyon Card
PFL’s European spin-off brand has found its 2024 champs.
The second-ever PFL Europe Championships took place on Saturday night from the LDLC Arena in Lyon, France, providing talents at welterweight, lightweight, bantamweight and flyweight a chance at earning notable regional gold after getting through earlier rounds of an eight-person bracket. Here’s how the action-packed card went down:
McGrillen Earns Impressive Knockout In Bantamweight Final
Lewis McGrillen closed out an eventful 2024 with another highlight-reel win, knocking out Alexander Luster in the second round to win the bantamweight bracket.
A clean overhand left from McGrillen floored Luster late in the second round of their championship clash, forcing a ground and pound stoppage just moments later. The punch ended an action-packed fight which saw McGrillen knock the tough Luster down in the opening frame as well.
24-year-old McGrillen previously got past Matiss Zaharovs and Dean Garnett to earn a grand final spot this weekend. His semi-final win against Garnett was most notable, as he only earned a third-round finish in the bout following a back-and-forth “Fight of the Year” contender clash.
Luster, a German talent, made it to the finals without much damage from past fights. He had a quick path to Saturday’s card, winning earlier tournament bouts via rear naked choke submission in less than two minutes.
Kaszuba Gains Title For Second Time
Jakub Kaszuba became the first and only back-to-back PFL Europe Champion this weekend, protecting his undefeated 14-fight record and once again earning a lightweight belt in his fourth-round finish of Connor Hughes.
An onslaught of ground and pound elbows from Kaszuba forced a finish in the championship rounds of the fight, closing out what was previously a close battle.
Poland’s Kaszuba has now put together six wins in the PFL Europe brand over two years, including victories earlier this year against ex-Bellator talents Daniele Scatizzi and Kane Mousah.
27-year-old Hughes took his first-ever stoppage loss in the fight, ending a three-bout run of wins he had previously attained.
Zendeli Submits Miceli Early To Become First PFL Europe Welterweight Champ
Albania’s Florim Zendeli captured the inaugural PFL Europe Welterweight Championship earlier in the evening, adding yet another stoppage win to his record in a fight against Daniele Miceli.
Zendeli once again showcased his slick finishing skills as a grappler, slipping in a rear naked choke which forced a tap from Miceli in the closing moments of the first round.
The win, Zendeli’s seventh via finish in the opening round, made him the first 170-pound champ to come from PFL’s Europe brand. He previously also submitted Tomasz Langowski in his quarter-final fight and beat regional vet Jack Grant via split decision in the semis.
Former Bellator talent Miceli had quick showings in his two prior tournament fights, beating Yassin Najid and Ibrahima Mane in less than two minutes combined.
Wisniewska Wins In Just 20 Seconds
Paulina Wisniewska captured gold in just her fifth pro fight on Saturday, stopping short-notice opponent Valentina Scatizzi in a lightning-quick 20 seconds to become PFL Europe’s newest flyweight champ.
A flashy switch-knee to the head of Scatizzi from a clinch position put Wisniewska in control of the fight in less than 10 seconds. The Polish talent was quick to follow up on her visibly damaging knee strike, connecting with numerous punches to the head of Scatizzi from the back position until the referee put an end to the fight.
Wisniewska, who debuted in MMA just over a year ago, has an undefeated record of five wins and a title which could elevate her to PFL’s main brand.
The 27-year-old was originally expected to receive a bigger fight this weekend, going up against undefeated English talent Shanelle Dyer in a classic “Two O’s, one’s got to go” scenario. However, after Dyer withdrew from the fight in recent weeks, 2023 finalist Scatizzi was brought in and given another chance to claim a PFL title.
A total of 12 fights took place on PFL’s final event of the year. In the main event, former Ares FC champ Abdoul Abdouraguimov got past former UFC fighter Laureano Staropoli via unanimous decision.
Here are the quick results:
Main Card (11:00AM EST / 5:00PM CET)
Bout 12: Abdoul Abdouraguimov def. Laureno Staropoli via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 11: Patrick Habirora def. Catalin Safta via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 2:16)
Bout 10: Mickael Groguhe def. Lamine Sene via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 9: Lewis McGrillen-Evans def. Alexander Luster via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 3:52) (PFL Europe Bantamweight Championship)
Bout 8: Jakub Kaszuba def. Connor Hughes via TKO, Strikes (RD 4, 4:07) (PFL Europe Lightweight Championship)
Bout 7: Mathys Duragrin def. Yassin Chtatou via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Mahio Campanella def. Ezzoubair Bouarsa via Submission, Arm Triangle Choke (RD 1, 4:45)
Bout 5: Salvo Giudice def. Atilla Kobas via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Florim Zendeli def. Daniele Miceli via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 4:24) (PFL Europe Welterweight Championship)
Bout 3: Paulina Wisniewska def. Valentina Scatizzi via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:20) (PFL Europe Flyweight Championship)
Bout 2: Eoin Sheridan def. Brice Belghazi via Decision, Unaimous
Bout 1: Claudio Pacella def. Oscar Ownsworth via Decision, Unanimous