Rumored Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington in the works for UFC 295 on Nov. 11 at MSG

OldBoy91 said:
I think he's easier than most think he would be yeah. Given what we have seen of Leon's defensive wrestling capabilities of late I think he'd do a good job of keeping it standing.

Both tell conflicting stories of their time training together. Islam claims he did whatever he wanted to Leon, taking him down and submitting him at will. Leon admits to being taken down as he didn't know how to wrestle then but says he's never been submitted either in a fight or in training.

Assuming Leon can keep it standing I think he pieces Islam up without too much trouble on the feet.

I think Islam is a better fighter P4P than Colby is but I think Colby is the more difficult fight for Leon. I think mostly due to the pace and the relentless chaining of shots. Islam's more measured and patient approach plays more into Leon's hands than Colby's game does. I also think he's more trick to deal with on the feet, Islam hits harder but Colby throws a ton of shots and mixes in the wrestling behind the strikes, and he doesn't get tired doing it.
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I just think Islam is physically stronger, has way better takedowns, way better top control and way better grappling than Colby. Standing he's more technical, has a bit more pop and is quicker but I agree Leon probably takes care of him. I favor Leon but I think it's super interesting, especially since I've seen Islam next to guys like Magomedrasul Gasanov and Ikram Aliskerov who are MWs and he doesn't give up much size, Islam can enter the cage vs Leon weighing around 190lbs pretty realistically and I do wonder what that does for his strength, cardio and punching power.

I don't take these gym stories too serious, Leon saying he never has been submitted in training is stupid. Even if it's true, it's stupid, just means he should have been rolling with better guys, if he entered the IBJJFs at black belt he'd get submitted, or the ADCCs...same for Islam. I do agree Islam's counter striking and low output plays more into Leon's striking, so long as Leon has the confidence he can handle getting tied up and getting back up,I am serious Islam may have the deepest and most intelligent takedown arsenal I have ever seen in MMA. Far exceeds Khabibs, Jones, GSPs, Cormiers, Cejudos etc. The adjustments he made vs Volk to shoot that low double in open space, the different inside and outside trips, the body locks, the single leg sequences he uses to chain. Just the set ups he has and the timing against the cage, absolutely blown away by Islam as a fighter. Also, Islam can prepare with Amru and Usman standing, he has been dealing with slick, longer speedsters who move well everyday for years and I bet AKA has some fellas more Leon's size too.

For me it's a dream fight, do Islam vs Charles and then Islam vs Volk or Gaethje/Dustin, have Leon defend vs Colby and Belal. After that maybe revisit the idea if things pan out ideally. If not oh well.
 
Silverhawk said:
The only other option is Belal. Now you might think that he is more deserving, which I wouldn't disagree with, but Colby just put more time into markething himself. It is what it is. Maybe Belal will wait out or he's just one more win away at max to get the shot. Thing is, Belal didn't do enough to create hype around him, even though he is on a 10 fight non-losing streak (with 1 NC). As a fan, I have to say, I prefer Edwards/Colby. How about you?
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You can't just give him a title shot because he's marketing himself lol. Fighters out there grinding, fighting the best and getting punished for this nonsense. I prefer to see Edwards vs Belal because Belal earned it. I don't care about Colby's clown act and never found it entertaining tbf.
 
I disagree with everyone here. Colby should be the favorite. Leon needs distance for his striking to be effective. I get that he won the last two fights in the trilogy but in my eyes Usman is the better boxer with more power. You can't just automatically assume that Leon will outstrike Colby. I think he will have trouble implementing his game if Colby doesn't give him room and overwhelm him. Colby is quicker, has the slight edge in cardio compared to Usman and he's shameless.
 
Adamant__ said:
You can't just give him a title shot because he's marketing himself lol.
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Cmon bro, the UFC has done more ridicilous things. This is price fighting ater all. It's not just his marketing, but he also fights pretty aggressively, which makes more people to want to see this fight. Don't get me wrong, Belal vs. Leon would be cool, too. But this time the more aggressive Colby won the deal, if it is true, that is.

Stone Golem said:
We will see who's delusional, son.
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Guess so. Sounds like you are hot business. Will you bet on the fight? After all, if Colby can't grapple Leon, his chances of winning are slim to none.
 
Damn near 6 months? Good lord. Why do professional fighters need so much time? Are they not training? Sometimes I wish we had maybe a month's notice and each fighter shows up as they are and not take half a year preparing for one specific fighter. I wanna see how good they are right now and not after they train submission defense or whatever for 3-6 months. They should be training everything all the time. But what do I know as a keyboard warrior.
 
This right here
Stone Golem said:
If Leon can handle Usman twice, while Colby failed twice, then IMO Leon sends Colby into the shadow realm.

Colby will have no more relevance.

I believe this is the Leon era, and I believe he hasn't even yet reached his full potential.
He's coming into his own now

I think Leon outclasses anyone else in this division, including Shavkat.
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HuskySamoan said:
I just think Islam is physically stronger, has way better takedowns, way better top control and way better grappling than Colby. Standing he's more technical, has a bit more pop and is quicker but I agree Leon probably takes care of him. I favor Leon but I think it's super interesting, especially since I've seen Islam next to guys like Magomedrasul Gasanov and Ikram Aliskerov who are MWs and he doesn't give up much size, Islam can enter the cage vs Leon weighing around 190lbs pretty realistically and I do wonder what that does for his strength, cardio and punching power.

I don't take these gym stories too serious, Leon saying he never has been submitted in training is stupid. Even if it's true, it's stupid, just means he should have been rolling with better guys, if he entered the IBJJFs at black belt he'd get submitted, or the ADCCs...same for Islam. I do agree Islam's counter striking and low output plays more into Leon's striking, so long as Leon has the confidence he can handle getting tied up and getting back up,I am serious Islam may have the deepest and most intelligent takedown arsenal I have ever seen in MMA. Far exceeds Khabibs, Jones, GSPs, Cormiers, Cejudos etc. The adjustments he made vs Volk to shoot that low double in open space, the different inside and outside trips, the body locks, the single leg sequences he uses to chain. Just the set ups he has and the timing against the cage, absolutely blown away by Islam as a fighter. Also, Islam can prepare with Amru and Usman standing, he has been dealing with slick, longer speedsters who move well everyday for years and I bet AKA has some fellas more Leon's size too.

For me it's a dream fight, do Islam vs Charles and then Islam vs Volk or Gaethje/Dustin, have Leon defend vs Colby and Belal. After that maybe revisit the idea if things pan out ideally. If not oh well.
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You make a lot of great points. A lot of food for thought for sure.
 
No one cares about Colby anymore. His shtick got old then Jorge humbled his ass. Will be rooting for Leon
 
svmr_db said:
"Yeah we're probably gonna do that fight at MSG in November"

- Dana White

That's pretty much all it takes for MMA media to throw around this BREAKING NEWS crap, it's a joke. o_O
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Was just thinking that when I saw “breaking”
 
Adamant__ said:
Colby Covington's last 5 fights:

Masvidal - W
Usman - L
Woodley - W
Usman - L
Lawler - W

3 title shots in 6 fights with the record of 3-2<45> Holy shit.
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damn… colby son off sonnen is pathetic
 
I wonder if Colby and Jones will squash the beef they have much like Izzy and Jones especially since they will be competing on the same card for the 1st time and both will be at the press conference.
 
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