UFC athlete Joaquin Buckley will get a chance to face former top-ranked welterweight ‘Chaos’ Colby Covington in a UFC Fight Night main event on December 14. The US-born ‘New Mansa’ Buckley says that Covington needed to take this match to help build back his bank account.
Joaquin Buckley says that Colby Covington is Broke
Joaquin Buckley has been on an impressive run since moving down to the welterweight division. He’s currently undefeated at 170 pounds, with a 4-0 record in this weight class. Joaquin Buckley has made waves in the division with notable victories over top contenders like Vicente Luque and former title challenger Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson.
After a year-long absence, former interim champion Colby Covington will be stepping back into the octagon. His last fight was in December 2023, when he lost to Leon Edwards in a title bout. ‘Chaos’ is best known for his mouth, not so much for his fights. He’s been relatively inactive lately, having fought only five times since December 2019.
‘New Mansa’ Joaquin Buckley said that Covington would still be inactive if he hadn’t spent all of his money. In an interview with James Lynch, Buckley explained:
“If you’re out there spending your money on females, promo videos, and hanging with TikTokers and other entertainers, money runs dry. I feel like, financially, he probably had to take this fight. I don’t think the UFC forced him, though.”
In recent social media posts, Covington was filmed hanging out with influencers Kaz Sawyer and Vitaly Zdorovetskiy, plus rapper Lil Pump. According to former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub, Covington hires models for his videos. In an interview, he said:
“He did his gimmick and this is the best part, he rented two chicks and I was like ‘do you have to do this?’ and he was like ‘I’m sorry man, I got to.’ So, they don’t know who he is and they hate being in there. They may have been strippers, I don’t know. Lovely ladies. So when they’re back he goes…you can tell he is always thinking, he goes ‘oh, while I’m talking to Brendan, can one of you rub my shoulders?’ and she goes ‘I’m not rubbing your f**king shoulders’”
This main event promises to be a clash of styles between Covington’s wrestling-heavy style and Buckley’s explosive striking. It’s a crucial fight for both men, with Covington looking to bounce back from his title loss and Buckley aiming to continue his ascent in the welterweight division.
