UFC cameras caught the cageside doctor making a worrying prediction to end the final main event of the year.
Welterweight contenders Colby Covington and Joaquin Buckley clashed atop the UFC Tampa card, which took place at the Amalie Arena in Florida on Saturday night.
Buckley was in the driving seat after two rounds. The 30-year-old had dropped Covington and opened up a nasty cut just above his right eye.
Just before the end of round three, veteran referee Dan Miragliotta called a halt to the action and invited the UFC doctor to take a look at the damage.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Viral footage shows the doctor taking one look at the cut and immediately shaking her head in the direction of the referee, who she advised to call off the fight.
The physician claimed Covington would ‘lose the eyelid’ if he was allowed to continue competing.
“It’s hanging down,” she told Miragliotta.
“He’s gonna lose his eyelid.
“You see how it’s cut open?”
As soon as he heard those words come out of the doctor’s mouth, the referee immediately waved off the fight to give Buckley the biggest win of his career.
Covington looked unhappy with the decision. The fans had a mixed reaction to the finish and his opponent barely celebrated what was a disappointing end to a brilliant year for the UFC.
Dana White believes Covington vs Buckley should’ve been allowed to continue.
The UFC boss openly admitted ‘Chaos’ was dealing with a bad cut, but the 55-year-old insists it was something he would’ve been allowed to fight through if the event was taking place elsewhere.
White said during his post-fight press conference: “I was curious to see how it would go if it had gone five rounds.
“There’s no doubt that it was a bad cut, but that fight doesn’t get stopped in Vegas – that fight keeps going in Vegas, 100 percent
“Love him or hate him, the guy’s a dog, f**** tough as nails, took big shots to the body, big shots to the head that would have knocked a lot of people out… Colby’s durable and tough, but when you get cut, anything can happen.
“It was definitely bothering him, and literally as soon as the corner would fix it, he’s waiting to walk back out and he rips it open again, makes it start bleeding again.
“That alone tells you that the cut was bothering him big time.”
Colby CovingtonJoaquin BuckleyMMAUFCUFC Tampa
