The recently concluded UFC Tampa has many fans and fighters talking. It showcased some epic battles and some less impressive bouts. UFC veteran Matt Brown was more concerned about Colby Covington’s loss to Joaquin Buckley in the main event.
The loss was Covington’s first since 2015, and the fighter feels it was underserved as he was ready to fight to the end. The bout was stopped after Covington suffered a cut on his right eyelid that wouldn’t stop bleeding, and I began to impair his vision.
The fighter is adamant that he would have loved for the battle to go on much longer, he would not believe Buckley defeated him. UFC veteran Matt Brown has a contrary opinion. The retired fighter says that Covington has been out of the game long before UFC Tampa and his defeat only solidified what many have known for some time now.
“It’s hard to argue he’s really been elite for a while,” Brown said on the newest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “He hasn’t done anything elite for a long time. I’m not even sure if the door was already closed. I thought this was kind of his chance to show that he was still an elite welterweight, and he didn’t pass the test. I think that door might have already been closed is the only caveat to that. We’ll see.
“I guess the question is whether he retires. It’s not even whether he’s an elite welterweight anymore. I think that answer’s pretty clear. Is he going to stick around? Is he going to keep fighting? Because he’s kind of lived off of his shtick more so than his performances, right?”
Covington was regarded as a formidable fighter during his time, but he was an underdog for quite some time and had no prospect of being re-signed. The fighter soon changed his tactics and became a trash-talker who went after every opponent.
“There’s different ways to build your name,” Brown said. “Colby kind of went the Chael Sonnen route. Talk the shit, get out there and get people talking about you so get the numbers and that’s how you earn the shot or you also have the Belal Muhammad route where he doesn’t really talk a lot of shit or anything but he goes out there and performs. Colby did the talking route. I think that’s probably what he’ll be remembered for.
“Does he [still] have that hunger? I thought that answered the question last weekend. I did not see the hunger. He did not argue the doctor’s stoppage. It just didn’t look like he even wanted to be there, and he was like, ‘Cool, I lost for a cut, that’s better than a TKO or a knockout or a referee’s stoppage and that’s an easy way to make excuses about how I could have come back and won that fight.’ It’s unfortunate when those things start going through your mind. That’s when you know it’s time to stop.”
In recent years, Covington has yet to win any gold. His last two fights before the UFC Tampa fight were against Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards, and he lost both. The fighter said he suffered a broken foot injury before the fight.
“The only one that I would say was about the fight was the Robbie Lawler fight,” Brown said. “That Colby Covington looked like he could beat just about anybody that day. That was an excellent performance. Just the volume that he put on, the pace, the cardio, he looked amazing. Didn’t really take any big shots that I remember or anything. But we only saw that once. That’s the only time we saw him put on an amazing performance.
“I just wonder if he started to rely on his shtick a bit too much and forgot about I’ve got to stay in the gym and train, and I’ve got to push that pace like that. It’s kind of a tragedy because I thought he was a really great prospect. I thought he could have done some big things. I thought he could have put on some great fights with many people, but I felt he just got caught up with his shtick too much and kind of relied on that.”
“I hope the best for Colby,” Brown said. “I hope that he comes back better. I hope he learns his lessons from this and comes back better. And I hope that he gets back in the gym and trains.However, I think he’s still got fights left in him, but he’s got to crack down, get back in the gym, and train like he did when he was an up-and-comer because he was a threatening welterweight when was an up-and-comer.”
Brown can’t say for certain if Covington can turn things around, but based on his latest loss, it’s tough for him to believe that things will improve.
Covington has made it clear that he doesn’t plan to walk away from pro-MMA competition just yet. Covington has been known to take some time between fights, but at this stage in his career, many expect the UFC matchmakers to throw him in the lion’s den with rising prospects. Time will tell what’s next for the former interim UFC welterweight champion.
