Colby Covington fell short at UFC 296 against Leon Edwards in his attempt to win the UFC welterweight title. ‘Chaos’ in the eyes of many lost three out of five rounds at the very least. After the fight, Covington stated that he did not feel like himself on the night given his long layoff. However, former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen believes this was an issue Covington knew he would have going in.
Colby Covington is known for being a pressure fighter. From the very first minute of the fight, Covington puts his opponents on the backfoot. However, against Leon Edwards, that was not the Covington we saw. In the post fight interview, Covington attributed that to the almost two-year break that he had. However, Chael Sonnen had a differing view on this. In a recent YouTube video posted on his channel he said,
“I am just sharing for you. When you have somebody like that who knows themselves and knows their own body, he knew good and well that walking out there with Leon.”
Against Edwards, Covington threw a mere 109 strikes in total. He also secured just two out ten attempted takedowns. The commentary team as well as fans attributed that to ring rust. Sonnen further shared his thoughts on the matter saying,
“He did not find that out once the fight started. He knew walking to that cage, I have a small problem on my hands. So I am going to have to be good enough and fight well enough to overcome this small problem that I have. Which is my eyes and my reactions are not going to be perfect. That is called bravery.”
‘Chaos’ made big statements before the fight and tried to get into Edwards’ head as well. But he wasn’t able to back his claims with his performance inside the octagon. As a result, he has lost his third shot at the title and dropped two places in the welterweight rankings. With that being said, let’s take a look at what is next for Colby Covington.
Colby Covington to return to a title shot in the UFC?
After the loss at UFC 296, Covington stated that he wanted to get back into action as soon as possible and stay active. He said that the time off was not something he planned on, however circumstances out of his control forced him. In the post-fight press conference, ‘Chaos’ called out Stephen Thompson for a fight in early 2024.
Unfortunately for Covington, the loss at UFC 296 means the end of his UFC championships aspirations. If he were to secure another title shot, it would have to be on the back of multiple wins. However, age is not on his side in order to work his way back to the title. It would be interesting to see if ‘Chaos’ is able to get another shot at the welterweight title or not.
