Pic: Colby Covington’s short-notice return against Joaquin Buckley hit with questionable fight poster | UFC Tampa

Dan Hiergesell is an expert voice who serves as MMAmania.com's weekend editor, covering mixed martial arts (MMA) for more than 15 years, getting featured on programs such as Countdown to UFC and SiriusXM Fight Club, among others.

The official fight poster for Colby Covington’s return against Joaquin Buckley at UFC Tampa this coming December has dropped and it’s underwhelming to say the least.

UFC’s marketing team didn’t have much time to put UFC Tampa’s official fight poster together because the main event was just re-worked last week. The promotion’s return to Tampa was originally expected to feature a headliner between undefeated welterweight contender Ian Garry and Buckley, who were ready to settle their beef from last year.

To some surprise, Garry was asked to step up and fight Shavkat Rakhmonov in the co-main event of UFC 310 this December in Las Vegas, Nevada, leaving a hole atop UFC Tampa. That’s when the promotion called on Covington to step up on short notice and save a card in his own back yard. Fortunately, “Chaos” accepted the fight and will try to play spoiler against a fighter in Buckley who is 5-0 at welterweight since returning in May 2023.

While this isn’t the biggest matchup to make at 170 pounds it still provides Buckley a chance to break through as a top contender and set himself up for title contention in 2025. As for Covington, this will give him the opportunity to return to the UFC win column after this title fight loss to Leon Edwards at UFC 296 and to prove he’s not over the hill at 36 years of age.

With limited time to kick out an official fight poster for UFC Tampa the promotion tried its hardest (it didn’t turn out great). Check it out below and let us know what you think!

For more UFC Tampa fight card news and coverage click HERE.