Colby Covington will be looking to become the undisputed UFC champion for the third time in his career when he takes on Leon Edwards in December. Will this fight be a decisive moment for the always outspoken welterweight challenger?
UFC veteran Matt Brown was particularly impressed by Covington’s ability to earn a title shot without going on a long winning streak, much less defeating a fighter who is currently ranked in the top 15 in the UFC’s 170-pound division. Considering this, I believe that this is a possibility.
Covington won the interim title in 2018, but fell short in two matches against Kamaru Usman. He had the opportunity to play against Edwards again for the first time in about two years. Brown has been so passive in recent years and so selective with his opponents that he feels a loss to Edwards could lead to his retirement.
“Honestly, it’s hard to believe he would keep fighting if he loses this fight,” Brown said of Covington on the latest episode of the TV show. Fighter vs. Writer. “He doesn’t seem like that kind of guy to me.
“He hasn’t fought in two years. He’s not my size, which I love to fight, so even if I lost 10 in a row, I would still want to fight. I think they’re here to get the money they get, make as much noise as possible, and get out. I have nothing against that. I’m not saying it’s the wrong way to do it. If If I had acted that way, I would probably be living in a bigger house by now. That’s just the way it is. [this is his third title shot]and he hasn’t fought in two years.
“What will he do if he loses again after this?” He has a murder case coming up. ”
Two notable welterweights will also be competing at UFC 296. Shavkat Rakhmonov takes on Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, while Ian Machado Garry faces his toughest test yet against Vicente Luque. Belal Muhammad is also undefeated in 10 fights and is considered by many to be the No. 1 contender in the division.
Add all this together and Covington faces a long road back to title contention if he loses.
“We’re talking about him getting one more deserved title shot in the future. He’s got a lot of hard work to do, but he’s probably not going to get it done,” Brown said.
Brown believes Covington could finish with a loss, but it’s unclear whether the former interim champion will face that issue. Covington presents Edwards with a number of interesting problems.
“We’ve seen Colby compete enough and we know he’s got a good shot here,” Brown said. “Honestly, this is a very winnable fight for him.
“But Leon’s just one of those guys who knows how to get through a shitty fight. From what we’ve seen so far. [Kamaru] Usman [fights]. He always seems to find a way to get it done. But I don’t think Colby would be a good match. This is going to be really interesting. ”
On paper, Edwards has a decisive advantage on his feet and is known as a knockout striker. But the way Brown sees it, the champion needs to land those shots to really hurt Covington. Brown knows Covington may not have the biggest or best weapon when throwing hands, but his aggressive face-attacking style could be a solution to Edwards’ long-range weaponry there is.
“Leon is a sniper on his feet. If you compare his fight with Usman, I think Usman was trying to play the same game,” Brown explained. “He was trying to snipe Leon a little bit, but that was Leon’s game. Usman was fighting like any other fighter and had a lot of success. I think especially against [Jorge] Masvidal is something of a sniper himself, and Usman clearly knocked him out. Colby brings a completely different battle to the table there, and we don’t know how well Leon will handle it.
“If it was a pure kickboxing match, I think Leon would have no problem winning. If Colby doesn’t fight him properly on his feet, it’s going to be an easy night for Leon.” I think the method could cause Leon a lot of problems on the feet leading to wrestling. I say bad matchup because Colby comes forward and just throws and he doesn’t care if he gets hit down the stretch. It’s like a smaller version of the Diaz brothers. He just steps forward and throws and throws, but I don’t know how Leon will deal with that. ”
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