Kamaru Usman Reveals 'Worry' for Colby Covington vs. Joaquin Buckley at UFC Tampa

Colby Covington's greatest rival Kamaru Usman breaks down his fight vs. Joaquin Buckley at UFC Tampa.

Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

Kamaru Usman is a little worried for Colby Covington ahead of his comeback fight at UFC Tampa.

The Frazier to his Ali, then-champion Usman knows Covington better than anyone, going 10 rounds with his most-heated rival across two fights that he both won. Years after their series and no longer holding the strap, Usman and Covington find themselves near the top of the division, having to fend off a contender or two if they want to return to the welterweight title conversation.

UFC 268: Usman vs. Covington. / Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

Colby Covington Names the One UFC Opponent He Hates the Most

Usman On Former Foe's Next Fight

Covington makes his play this weekend as he battles streaking contender Joaquin Buckley in the main event of UFC Tampa, a year removed from his third undisputed title fight loss to Leon Edwards at UFC 296.

"Good fight for Covington to come back on," Usman said of his former foe on Pound 4 Pound. "If he's still there at that level and if he wants to continue to be at the top of the division, this is a good fight for him."

Usman: "I Worry About The Inactivity Of Covington..."

While Usman likes Covington's chances, there is some concern for "Chaos" with the oncoming Buckley 5-0 at welterweight, finishing the likes of perennial contenders Vicente Luque and Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson just a couple of months ago.

UFC Welterweight contender Joaquin Buckley. / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Buckley has fought nine times since the start of 2022 as opposed to Covington, who's only fought twice in that time and was most recently sidelined with a foot injury suffered in the first 30 seconds of his fight against Leon Edwards.

"Buckley is hungry, he's aggressive, he's gonna come after Covington early," Usman continued. "I worry about the inactivity of Covington because I said that before in his last fight, I said him going into a title fight with Leon Edwards [after] such a long layoff, it's going to take time to get into the fight to where he starts get going again. That's the issue that I see here."

"He's also had another long layoff since that fight. I think it's going to be a little tough for him to get going. Buckley's not the kind of guy that you're just going to stand there and take a couple of shots and then eventually get going later. He has to be able to get a hold of Buckley, get Buckley into wrestling and grappling and up against the cage to really start to build up those lactic acids. Then you can really start to see if he gets to the later rounds of 3, 4 and 5. Then you could really potentially see Colby wake up."

UFC 268: Usman vs. Covington. / Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

A cardio machine, a five-round fight favors the credentialed Covington as Buckley has yet to go into those deep waters, with UFC Tampa being his first main event. But, Buckley has got some horsepower behind him, able to finish the fight at any given time, whether that be a massive overhand or a spinning back kick... in midair.

It gets better with every single watch 🤯

We will never forget this KO from @Newmansa94! #UFCTampa pic.twitter.com/lplMl2wG27

— UFC (@ufc) December 9, 2024

However the top contender fight may play out, Kamaru Usman says, "I'm going to have my eye on this one real closely." The former welterweight champ plans on attending the event in Tampa on Saturday.

Joaquin Buckley: Colby Covington ‘Bigger Fight’ than Ian Machado Garry

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