UFC Fight Night: Covington vs Buckley Betting Odds, Tips & Live Stream MMA
After Ian Garry stepped in to face Rakhmonov at UFC 310, Colby Covington will take his place against Joaquin Buckley in the main event of this upcoming UFC Fight Night event.
You can get the latest UFC odds here at Stake Sportsbook and watch the fights live as they happen.
When & Where is UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Buckley?
This Fight Night event will take place on Saturday, December 14. The fights are being held at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, USA. The main event is scheduled to get underway at 10 pm ET.
Major Fighters in UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Buckley
Colby Covington
Covington made a name for himself in the welterweight division with his trash talk and won an interim belt. However, he lost two close title fights to former champ Kamaru Usman and was also beaten in a title fight by Leon Edwards. Despite his number six ranking in the division, he doesn’t have a single win over any of the currently ranked fighters. He’s fought just once per year since 2019, and this inactivity may have affected his performance.
Joaquin Buckley
Buckley has a 20-6 professional MMA record and is currently 10-4 in the UFC. He started his UFC run at middleweight, but since moving down a weight class, he’s gone on an impressive five-fight win streak. His most recent win, a stoppage over Stephen Thompson, earned him a Performance of the Night bonus, and he’s stopped three of his last five opponents.
Mackenzie Dern
Dern is a fan favourite thanks to her willingness to trade with her opponents and her toughness, even when she’s outclassed in the striking. Although she started as a pure grappler, her striking has improved, and she’s had some good wins. Still, she is struggling to get momentum together, and her striking is still below par if she wants to challenge for the title.
Amanda Ribas
Ribas won with an impressive TKO over Pinheiro last year, but since then she’s only fought once, in a loss to Rose Namajunas. She has a similar record to Dern, with 13 wins and 5 losses, and she also has two wins and two losses in her last four.
Although he’s fighting up the rankings, the MMA odds have Buckley as a favourite in this matchup. Covington’s inactivity won’t have done him any favours, especially considering his age. Although he formerly had excellent pressure, the many years of high-intensity wrestling seem to have taken their toll on Covington’s body.
Buckley is the younger, hungrier fighter, and with three impressive wins in 2024 already, he’ll be looking to move further up the rankings before the end of the year. Buckley is strong enough to nullify Covington’s wrestling and has superior striking ability, with some excellent stoppage wins over legitimate opponents.
These two have faced each other once before, with Ribas beating Dern by unanimous decision in 2019. Since then, it’s hard to say which fighter has made serious improvements. Dern had some impressive submission wins at the start of her UFC career, but as she faced tougher opposition she’s struggled to get them to the ground.
Ribas has been fairly inactive over her recent career and has moved back and forth between flyweight and strawweight. Her superior striking and the fact that she already has a win over Dern mean the UFC betting odds favour her slightly, but it could go either way. The odds are very close for this fight.
MMA betting is easy at Stake. If you’re already familiar with sports betting, it should be straightforward enough, but you can check our guide to MMA & UFC betting or our full sports betting guide for more details. Here are some simple steps to follow when placing your UFC bets:
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Pre-live and live betting markets are available at Stake, with all UFC events covered live. Simply log into your account while the event is taking place to see the fight odds updated in real-time. You can also watch a free live stream to enjoy all the action inside the Octagon as it happens.
