As Leon Edwards keeps his title and fans see him at “Chaos,” Colby Covington’s act wears thin.
In the main event of UFC 296 on Saturday that T-Mobile Arena, Leon Edwards beat Colby Covington for the welterweight title. He shrugged and said it wasn’t even close to his best showing.
There was no doubt that Edwards took the first four rounds; all three judges gave him a score of 49–46. People thought that his hitting was Edwards’ best move before the fight.
There were no exciting moves in the fight that made the 19,039 people who bought tickets stand up. Edwards slowly beat Covington, which was a strange showing from the former interim champion.
This night, the King of Cardio wasn’t there. On Saturday, he didn’t have that extra gear that helped him break so many marks in the past.
Nobody would say that his wrestling was great, and Edwards might have won the fight through his wrestling skills instead of his hitting.
Covington didn’t do much within the Octagon, and the crowd, which had been mostly cheering for him, was screaming at him during his interview after the fight.
He said disgusting things about Edwards’ late father prior to the fight and said even worse things afterward.
When Edwards was a teenager, his father was killed in a London bar. Covington said that Edwards’ father was a drug boss and a sex trafficker, but the details of how Edwards’ father died have never been made public, and that claim has not been proven.
For a long time, Covington was a great fighter. But he’s now 0-3 in title fights, and on Saturday, he didn’t do much in the Octagon, and his fans seemed to turn against him.
Trump got up and went back to his locker room area after the fight, while Covington had been talked by Joe Rogan inside the Octagon. After cheering for him loudly all night, the audience booed him loudly.
Colby Covington will be the main event at UFC 296, which could be his last chance to win the welterweight title.
Covington has now failed twice to win an uncontested title. Fans don’t think about whether the third time will be the charm before his title bout with Leon Edwards.
Instead, everyone in the MMA world is focused on “Chaos” for what seems to be the sole purpose for which they ever do that: to stir up trouble. Many people say that Covington is not at all like the bad guy he plays on TV.
Ahead of UFC 296 Covington threw mean rumors about the whole welterweight division. His words about Edwards’ family were strongly criticized by many.
Fans of Covington quickly tell everyone in the MMA world that his bad days are just part of the show he had to direct along with star in when he was about to be released from the UFC.
But Edwards wasn’t the only one who had to deal with Covington’s mean-spirited insults. He also went after Tony Ferguson, making fun of the lightweight’s mental health problems.
Ian Garry, whose marriage with Layla Machado Garry has been the subject of a lot of attention, was also one of the targets.
Covington said that Garry’s wife was having affairs and called the middleweight who wasn’t there a cu**old.
But many people are quick to say that this is not how Covington really acts, and an upcoming ESPN story about how he acts when he’s not in front of the cameras is especially telling.
And in it, Brett Okamoto talks about a change that happens between when the cameras have been on and when they are off.
When he’s in the mood, he’s a showman who smiles big and says mean things to people in his section. But when he’s not working, he’s a quiet man who blends into the background.
Before he developed a bad personality, he behaved in a much more polite way. In his second UFC fight, against Wagner Silva, the bowed to Silva after beating him.
A fan once talked to an up-and-coming fighter in a good way. He said that showing that side of himself doesn’t sell when questioned why he doesn’t do it more often.
“Chaos” has also been recorded saying that he feels bad about Ali Abdelaziz managing Gilbert Burns, saying that he thinks Abdelaziz is not honest. Sometimes, glimpses in the other side of Covington can still be seen.
Chael Sonnen, who used to be MMA’s best trash-talker, and Kurt Angle, who used to be a WWE superstar and an Olympic gold winner, are two of Colby Covington’s biggest influences on his over-the-top character.
A wrestler’s ability to put on an excellent fight in the ring has traditionally been less important than their ability to talk on the mic. So, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Covington has a degree in pro wrestling.
A character that is too big for real is the best way to get people to pay attention and respond loudly. Fans can either cheer for the character or get angry at them.