Fans hoping to see the return of Hulk Hogan in Saturday Night’s main event ended up watching the wrong show. Instead, Hogan appeared with former UFC fighter Chell Sonnen and walked mixed martial arts star Colby Covington to the Octagon. Despite the combination of Mr. Hogan and Mr. Covington, two of President-elect Donald Trump’s most ardent supporters, the MAGA powers were no match for what awaited them.
In the main event of the UFC, which aired on ESPN, Covington was crushed to pieces by Joaquin Buckley in a pivotal match between the two welterweights. Covington suffered a cut above his right eyebrow early in the fight, but the cut worsened during the fight. Between the second and third rounds, a ringside doctor warned that the fight would be stopped if the wound worsened. With seconds left in the third round, referee Dan Miragliotta called a timeout and the doctor ended the fight.
It was Covington’s second loss in a row and third loss in his last four fights. “Colby is tough, but I don’t think Colby was too upset about the fight being stopped because of the cut. The cut was definitely bothering him,” UFC CEO Dana White said after the fight. spoke.
At least Covington had that entrance, brother.
As for Hogan, he was MIA for Saturday Night’s main event in more ways than one. The WWE Hall of Famer was the star of the show for its first seven years. But strangely he wasn’t part of the show’s opening retro packaging, which featured clips from classic episodes.
The show also saw Jesse “The Body” Ventura return as a commentator, so Hogan’s physical absence probably worked in his favor. Ventura, a former friend, has publicly criticized Hogan for the past 30 years. Before WrestleMania II in 1986, Ventura attempted to unionize professional wrestling. However, Hogan tipped off then-WWE owner Vince McMahon and thwarted Ventura’s efforts. Ventura later claimed this cost him his job, but he returned to WWE that year. He remained with the company as a color commentator until 1990.
As such, it was widely expected that Ventura would tear Hogan to shreds when Hogan showed up. But as Ventura told Brandon Tierney and Sal Licata last week, “I’ve never hated him. I don’t hate anyone.” But Ventura added: “But he won’t be there on Saturday, I’m sure of that.”
