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UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Buckley
Joaquin Buckley
Joaquin Buckley
20-6 · USA
VS
Colby Covington
Colby Covington
17-4 · USA
December 14, 2024 · Tampa, Florida, USA
Welterweight · 5 rounds · Main event
171.0lb
Weigh-in
171.0lb
Joaquin Buckley def. Colby Covington by KO/TKO (Cut above eye), R3 4:42
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
Buckley23/550/000:09
Covington10/510/200:22
R2
Buckley28/550/100:01
Covington19/501/301:28
R3 · 4:42
Buckley24/410/001:08
Covington8/230/301:50
Total
Buckley75/1510/101:18
Covington37/1241/803:40

Pre-fight

The model's read going in

The walk-forward model's call at the time of the bout — persisted out-of-sample, with no hindsight about the result.

Prediction
BuckleyWin probabilityCovington
60.0%40.0%
KO / TKO
36%
Submission
18%
Decision
46%
Expected fight time: 16.7 min
Retrospective pick: the walk-forward model's call at the time of the fight — persisted out-of-sample, with no hindsight about the result.
What drives the pick

Each bar is a feature's push on the model from the center axis. Red pushes toward Buckley, blue toward Covington. Tap a bar for why.

Predicted outcomes
Buckley60%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO28%47%33%
Submission7%11%4%
Decision25%42%29%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes75 (32101)act 75
Takedowns0.4 (0.01.7)act 0
Covington40%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO8%20%8%
Submission12%29%5%
Decision20%51%21%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes68 (2993)act 37
Takedowns1.7 (0.04.7)act 1
Combined totals~143 sig strikes~2.1 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R116%
R218%
R310%
R46%
R54%
Distance46%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 0.7%
Buckley
52.4%-112
Covington
+11246.9%
Most takedownstie 25.8%
Buckley
12.5%+496
Covington
-49661.8%
Significant strikes — over/under
Buckley
Expected: 74.6
74.5
Over 74.5
39.8%
+151
Under 74.5
60.2%
-151
094187
Covington
Expected: 68.1
68
Over 68
39.5%
+151
Exactly 68
0.7%
push
Under 68
59.8%
-151
086171
Takedowns — over/under
Buckley
Expected: 0.4
0.5
Over 0.5
25.1%
+298
Under 0.5
74.8%
-298
035
Covington
Expected: 1.7
1.5
Over 1.5
50.5%
-102
Under 1.5
49.5%
+102
036

Odds are model-implied (no real prop market is priced for these). The “most” prices are draw-no-bet — a tie (for takedowns, usually 0–0) is a push, so each side is priced off its chance of winning given a result, while the % shown is the raw chance of landing strictly more. Drag a line in half-point steps: a half line (e.g. 2.5) is a clean over/under, while a whole number adds a third outcome — landing exactly on it, a push — so over, exact and under sum to 100%. On a whole number the over/under odds are draw-no-bet (priced off the decisive mass, since the push refunds), so the two sides stay mirror images rather than implying an arbitrage.

Expected fight time 16.7 min. Predicted-output ranges are percentiles of the model’s simulated fights: sig strikes the middle 50% (25th–75th); takedowns the wider 10th–90th, since they’re 0 in most fights so a narrow band would collapse to 0. Win-by-method = win probability × that fighter’s own method split: the model forecasts how the fight ends, and that forecast is divided between the corners by each fighter’s finishing record — UFC wins in full, earlier-career wins at half weight, as of fight night — reconciled so the fighters’ totals still equal their win probabilities and the methods still total the fight-level forecast above. “Equity” is each of those over that fighter’s win % — how they win given that they win — so a column adds to 100%, and it differs by corner. A fighter with no classifiable wins at any level leans on the fight-level split. “How it ends” is the model’s round-of-finish split. “Mkt” is the de-vigged market prop (consensus across books), shown for context, not as a betting signal; rounds & totals slots fill as that data lands. Percentages are apportioned by largest remainder, so each set adds to its total exactly and an individual figure can sit a point off its own rounding.

Model vs market
Final
ModelMarketGapLine
To win
Buckley60.0%65.1%−5.1-213
Covington40.0%34.9%+5.1+174
By method
Buckley by KO/TKO21.7%33.0%−11.3+153
Buckley by submission11.0%4.2%+6.8+1899
Buckley by decision27.3%28.9%−1.6+188
Covington by KO/TKO14.5%7.6%+6.9+996
Covington by submission7.3%5.3%+2.0+1486
Covington by decision18.2%21.1%−2.9+296
Total rounds (over)
Over 1.5 rds84.2%81.1%+3.1-659
Over 2.5 rds65.8%72.1%−6.3-346
Over 3.5 rds55.6%64.5%−8.9-225
Over 4.5 rds49.7%56.5%−6.8-152
Goes the distance
Fight goes to decision45.5%51.2%−5.7-120

Market % is the de-vigged (no-vig) consensus across the books that price both fighters; the line is the average across books with the min–max range in parentheses. Gap is the model minus the market in points (+ = the model rates that outcome above the market). Thin or one-sided markets are flagged or left blank rather than shown as a fabricated %. Shown for context, not as a bet — the closing line is the sharpest public price and the model trails it on average. For 5-round bouts the model splits its round-3+ finish mass into rounds 3–5 by the historical within-bucket rate, so the over-3.5 / 4.5 lines carry a model estimate.

Trait web
64.9Striking64.9
Covington +0.1
50.1Grappling59.9
Covington +9.8
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
BuckleyCovington
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1626
Pound-for-pound
1650
1614
Divisional
1642
1538
Striking offense
1533
1512
Striking defense
1502
1496
Grappling offense
1534
1546
Grappling defense
1546
Physical
30 yrs
Age
36 yrs
5'10"
Height
5'11"
76"
Reach
72"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
Striking (UFC career)
4.13
Strikes landed / min
3.88
36%
Strike accuracy
39%
3.20
Strikes absorbed / min
2.98
58%
Strike defense
55%
Grappling (UFC career)
1.96
Takedowns / 15 min
3.79
46%
Takedown accuracy
44%
69%
Takedown defense
68%
0.0
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.2
Form & résumé
71%
UFC win rate
75%
+5
Win/loss streak
-1
100%
Last-5 win rate
40%
70%
Finish rate
42%
Recent opp. quality
70
Days since last fight
364
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Joaquin Buckley
  • WStephen ThompsonKO/TKO R3
    Close -2252mo before
  • WNursulton RuziboevU-DEC R3
    Close -1347mo before
  • WVicente LuqueKO/TKO R2
    Close +1089mo before
  • WAlex MoronoU-DEC R3
    Close -1791y 2mo before
  • WAndre FialhoKO/TKO R2
    Close -2251y 7mo before
Colby Covington
  • LLeon EdwardsU-DEC R5
    Close +1351y before
  • WJorge MasvidalU-DEC R5
    Close -3232y 9mo before
  • LKamaru UsmanU-DEC R5
    Close +2393y 1mo before
  • WTyron WoodleyKO/TKO R5
    Close -3354y 3mo before
  • LKamaru UsmanKO/TKO R5
    Close +1655y before
Buckley — win / loss by method
Record: 20-6-0

Bar length is fight count (largest bar = full width); shading splits finishes by round and decisions by unanimous vs split — tap a bar for the round-by-round count.

KO/TKO
14 wins, 4 losses
W
70% of wins
L
67% of losses
Submission
0 wins, 0 losses
W
0% of wins
L
0% of losses
Decision
6 wins, 2 losses
W
30% of wins
L
33% of losses
UFC
10win4loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
7 (70%)KO/TKO(75%) 3
0 (0%)Submission(0%) 0
3 (30%)Decision(25%) 1
Non-UFC
10win2loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
7 (70%)KO/TKO(50%) 1
0 (0%)Submission(0%) 0
3 (30%)Decision(50%) 1
Covington — win / loss by method
Record: 17-4-0

Bar length is fight count (largest bar = full width); shading splits finishes by round and decisions by unanimous vs split — tap a bar for the round-by-round count.

KO/TKO
4 wins, 1 loss
W
24% of wins
L
25% of losses
Submission
4 wins, 1 loss
W
24% of wins
L
25% of losses
Decision
9 wins, 2 losses
W
53% of wins
L
50% of losses
UFC
12win4loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
3 (25%)KO/TKO(25%) 1
2 (17%)Submission(25%) 1
7 (58%)Decision(50%) 2
Non-UFC
5win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
1 (20%)KO/TKO() 0
2 (40%)Submission() 0
2 (40%)Decision() 0

Profiles

Experience
Buckley
Covington
14
UFC fights
16
145.2 min · 10.4 avg
Octagon time
273.4 min · 17.1 avg
11y 10m
Career length
14y 6m
UFC schedule strength

Opponents' records on fight night — toggle their full cross-promotional record vs UFC bouts only.

Buckley
Covington
237W–71L · 76.9%
Overall
283W–74L · 79.3%
168W–49L · 77.4%
Wins
219W–69L · 76.0%
69W–22L · 75.8%
Losses
64W–5L · 92.8%
Non-UFC schedule strength
Buckley
Covington
74W–24L · 75.5%
Overall
24W–78L · 23.5%
61W–24L · 71.8%
Wins
24W–78L · 23.5%
13W–0L · 100.0%
Losses
0W–0L
Distance striking
Buckley
Covington
3.99
Landed / min
6.17
31.1%
Accuracy
34.9%
61.2%
Defense
59.2%
0.93
Knockdowns / 15 min
0.05
74.8%
Time at distance
50.0%
Grappling & control
Buckley
Covington
1.96
Takedowns / 15 min
3.79
46.3%
Takedown accuracy
44.2%
69.2%
Takedown defense
67.9%
0.00
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.16
64.9%
Control share
94.0%
Strike target map
Buckley
  • Head60%(359)div 63%
  • Body29%(175)div 21%
  • Legs11%(65)div 16%
Covington
  • Head69%(737)div 63%
  • Body16%(166)div 21%
  • Legs15%(159)div 16%

Where each fighter lands significant strikes (career). “div” = the weight-class average.

Joaquin Buckley
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

Per-fight: SS & TD shown landed/attempted; Close = consensus closing line.

Colby Covington
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

Per-fight: SS & TD shown landed/attempted; Close = consensus closing line.