Covington contests UFC Tampa stoppage: 'Let me go out on my shield'

Colby Covington disagrees with the doctor's stoppage in his loss to Joaquin Buckley last weekend at UFC Tampa.

The former interim welterweight champion lost the main-event bout via third-round TKO after the cageside doctor recommended that referee Dan Miragliotta end the fight due to a cut on Covington's right eyelid.

"Dude, that was a bullshit stoppage," Covington said Wednesday on his Twitch channel, according to Happy Punch. "Let's be honest. I was still in the fight. I was getting takedowns. (Buckley) was getting slower. None of his punches did any significant damage like drop me or hurt me."

He added: "Let me go out on my shield, though. It's a bullshit stoppage. Fake stoppage. Another f-----g cheat job."

Covington stepped in slightly less than a month's notice for UFC Tampa, replacing Ian Machado Garry, who was removed from a matchup against Buckley to compete at UFC 310 a week earlier. It was Covington's first fight since December 2023 and his second straight loss.

Covington, 36, has fallen out of the title picture at 170 pounds, now sitting at No. 9 in the rankings. A former three-time title challenger, Covington is 1-3 in his last four Octagon appearances and holds just one victory in the past four years.

"Chaos," however, remains confident that he'll turn his career around.

"I want to prove people wrong," Covington said.