News Colby Covington on why he didn't wrestle Kamaru Usman at UFC 245: I was beating him up so easily..

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The fight between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington turned out to be a classic, but it didn’t play out the way most expected it to.

UFC welterweight champion Usman (16-1 MMA, 11-0 UFC) faced former UFC 170-pound interim champ Covington (15-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) in the main event of this past December’s UFC 245, where both men stood toe-to-toe in the middle of the octagon and traded for 24 minutes.

Considering both men’s decorated collegiate wrestling backgrounds, it came as a surprise that two fighters that have leaned heavily on their grappling in the past, didn’t even attempt to take the fight to the ground.

Covington, who was up 3-1 on one judge’s scorecard, said he abandoned his wrestling because he felt that he was having his way with Usman on the feet before being stopped in the final minute of the fifth round in a controversial finish.


“No, I was not surprised one bit that he didn’t want to wrestle because he knows that if he wrestles a D1 all-star like me, he’s going to get exposed and he’s going to get tired, and he’s going to gas,” Covington told MMA Junkie. “The reason I didn’t implement any wrestling is I was beating him up so easily standing.

“I wobbled him in the first, the second, and the fourth. I hurt him with the head kick, got a nasty body kick on him where he was about to quit. I caught him with some good straight lefts, good hooks, good uppercuts, and had him on wobbly legs multiple times, so I was having so much success striking that I didn’t need to wrestle. I was winning the whole entire fight, so I didn’t feel like I had to switch to the wrestling.”

Both men attempted over 750 significant strikes combined, putting on an incredible pace. Covington was able to previously show off that impressive work rate in his unanimous decision win over former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler at this past August’s UFC on ESPN 5, where he broke the recordfor most significant strikes attempted with 515.

Covington put the pressure on Usman early but was unhappy with the officiating throughout the fight. There were numerous breaks in the action due to an eye poke and groin shot by Covington that he’s adamant did not land – and he thinks those breaks in the early rounds that he was in control of completely changed the tide of the fight.

“I noticed that when I kicked him in the liver and I was starting to put the pressure on in the second round, he didn’t like that,” Covington said. “He was ready to fold up, you could see it in his eyes. If you go freeze frame to when I kicked him in the liver and he turned around, you could see it in his eyes. He was ready to break and he was ready to quit, but when you get five minutes to recover in a fight and you get that two separate times, that’s 10 minutes of resting in a title fight. There’s no way for me to build momentum or build pressure on because he just takes breaks, and that’s cheating.”


“The rematch, there’s going to be a different game plan, a different strategy and I’m 110 percent confident that he won’t be able to stan
d with me.”
 
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Real answer is prob: I was doing better on the feet than I expected, so I didn't want to waste energy trying for a TD.

But his response sounds better if the goal is to irritate people.
 
Colby was having success on the feet. I did think he was winning rounds very well. But those body shots were the most significant strikes, and Usman knew that from round 1. Colby is still the greatest threat. He is a cardio monster with great takedowns and relentless striking.
 
Kamaru is a filthy cheeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaateeerrrrr
<DCrying>
 
And a couple days ago colby said he didn't wrestle because of food poisoning.

Lying about shit to make yourself feel better is one thing but fuck you gotta stick to 1 story.
 
His gimmick has now made him more boring than Usman - which is quite a feat. It may see him invited into the White House again which is probably why he is clinging on to his gimmick.
 
Yeah, Colby was tearing up Usman's fist with his face. Killer strategy.
 
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Colby shut the fuck up and go lose to Woodley or Masvidal...
 
I gave every round to usman colby had some nice success with his strikes but usman landed bigger shots.
Also what a loser cringeton is
<36>
 
Real answer is prob: I was doing better on the feet than I expected, so I didn't want to waste energy trying for a TD.

But his response sounds better if the goal is to irritate people.


Everybody thought that Covington's path to victory was striking. Usman had never had a prolonged back-and-forth striking battle like that, and Usman is much bigger and has a comparable gas tank.

The notion that Colby had any intention of grappling with Usman unless Usman got rocked badly is laughable.

Also, Colby doesn't really trigger anybody unless he's winning. The shtick just seems kind of sad now.
 
That fight was dead even coming into the 5th round.

It was anyone's fight, and Usman was absolutely not dominating by any measure, including on the score cards.

The difference in this fight is Usman dug deep and pulled off something big at the very tail end of the fight, and Colby didn't have an answer for it.

Overall both guys showed they are the best in the division.
 
I gave every round to usman colby had some nice success with his strikes but usman landed bigger shots.
Also what a loser cringeton is
<36>
Thank God ur not a judge then. Did u give reyes all 5 rounds? Lmao
 
him, the diaz brothers, and diegos coach....stuck in an elevator having batshit crazy delusional conversations about their fights for an hour.
Now that would be quality real tv
 
It's so funny how fighters like Colby and Conor see their losses...
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