Colby Covington stocks at all-time low: Why UFC’s ‘MAGA’ fighter needs a FINISH this weekend
Colby Covington will be taking on Joaquin Buckley in the main event of the UFC Fight Night Tampa card this weekend.
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Colby Covington (via MMA Fighting)
Colby Covington was probably extremely happy when Donald Trump was voted in as the President-elect back in November, gaining a massive victory for anyone who believes in the ‘MAGA’ mindset. Unfortunately for the ‘Real American’ fighter, it’s the only victory he’s had in quite some time.
Covington is set to enter the octagon this Saturday, taking on Joaquin Buckley in the main event of UFC Fight Night from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. This fight is the last UFC card of the year, and arguably, it’s the last opportunity that Colby has to regain some genuine relevance in the Welterweight division.
Yes, Covington is currently ranked #6 in the 170lb division. However, he hasn’t had a win since 2022, when he defeated Jorge Masvidal in a fairly ho-hum Unanimous Decision at UFC 272.
Colby has a record of 2-3 in his last five fights, and even though he did manage the aforementioned win against Masvidal in 2022 and against Tyron Woodley in 2020, it has been some time since he was regularly active in the cage and making headlines.
Losses to Kamaru Usman twice and most recently Leon Edwards nearly a year ago at UFC 296 have meant that his stock has arguably never been lower at the pro level. Therefore, he needs something drastic to get back into the upper echelons of the division and even potentially into title contention at some point.
Is Colby Covington boring?
Something that fans have been asking for some time is whether or not the American fighter is too boring in the cage to be considered as one of the top stars in MMA. I think this is a little unfair, but considering he was massively rated by his own fans just a few years ago and considered one of the next megastars of the sport, he has not lived up to that just yet.
What one person considers “boring” can be “smart” to someone else. Yes, Colby is an absolute cardio machine, and he will not stop working for the 15 to 25 minutes he is in a fight, but does work rate count as entertainment? Not really. Colby’s wrestling ability is what has pushed him to the point that he is at now, and there is absolutely no way that he will stand and trade with someone on the feet unless he thinks that he isn’t going to be able to out-grapple them.
Colby’s recent strategy has been to try and overwhelm his opponents in the octagon with work rate and put him in unfavorable positions. Covington’s modus operandi is usually to try and exchange for a short time in the opening round before pushing forward and going for a clinch against the cage. If he isn’t able to get you to the edge of the octagon, then he’ll go for a level change in the middle to try and get you on the canvas.
Colby Covington is capable of pulling off the highlight reel finish, but he is clearly too conservative on the feet to try anything that would leave him open to a counter. Having said that, his ground and pound game can, at times, be strong, and he can overwhelm opponents at multiple levels with his grappling, so if you don’t find that boring… Then you aren’t going to find Colby boring.
Trash talkers need to produce the finishes
The biggest trash talkers in combat sports history have all been able to produce some massive finishes. Let’s just take Conor McGregor as one example; he was able to talk fans into the building or buy a fight on PPV. Not only did he intrigue on the microphone, but he also backed it up in the cage in devastating fashion at the height of his career.
Colby has that gift of the gab, but his ‘safe’ grappling style doesn’t really mesh with how he acts with the media beforehand. Trying to keep up that ‘character’ whilst not having those electric fights is a really difficult sell, especially when you haven’t been winning much of your recent fights.
The Conundrum
For me, Colby absolutely has to get the finish against Buckley this weekend. Otherwise, it is going to be difficult to justify any bigger matchups for him in the near future. What could make that difficult is Buckley’s own knockout ability, which we’ve seen on a fair few occasions (Impa Kasanganay will tell you).
On paper, Colby should be trying to smother Buckley and beat him over the three rounds…but I don’t think that this is a normal fight for Covington. Instead, he needs to get the finish and prove that he can still be worthy of high-profile fights on PPV.
From a tactical standpoint, many coaches would say that what I’m saying here is ridiculous: take the win however you can… And they aren’t wrong…But Colby isn’t just fighting Buckley. Covington is fighting the man across from him in the octagon and the stench of being a ‘boring’ fighter, something that he needs to put behind him to get back to the top of the game in the 170-pound division.
If Colby doesn’t win this fight on Saturday, then I do think he’ll fight again. However, unless he moves weight class and goes for someone with a bit of a name, then he’s going to drift further down the fight card. Colby needs to get a knockout or a submission, but it depends on whether he is willing to take a bit of risk to do so.
Related: LeBron James ripped by ‘MAGA’ fighter Colby Covington over P Diddy connection
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Jake Skudder
(13 Articles Published)