Colby Covington, the mixed martial artist, believes that his two defeats against Kamaru Usman were significant factors in Leon Edwards’ eventual triumph over “The Nigerian Nightmare”. Covington is due to contend Edwards for the welterweight title at UFC 296, slated for December 16 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The upcoming fight will be his first since he outmaneuvered Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272 in March 2022. Notwithstanding his recent performance of 2-2 in his last four Octagon bouts, both of his losses were against Usman in welterweight title fights.
Covington maintains that his bouts at UFC 245 and UFC 268, where he was defeated by Usman, significantly weakened the Nigerian fighter, paving the way for Edwards to dethrone him at UFC 278. He boldly stated to UFC.com, “No doubt about it, I took the fight out of Usman. His chin was never the same, and I’m the one that loosened that chin. I head kicked him and had him on wobbly legs, then he calls timeout. It’s not like Leon did something that I hadn’t already done.”
Edwards emerged victorious over Usman with a fifth-round head kick knockout at UFC 278 and defended his title with a mixed decision in their rematch at UFC 286. Covington is convinced that the first knockout left a lasting impact on Usman, resulting in a less resilient performance in the rematch. He shared, “You can tell [Usman] was just hesitant, and that knockout really affected him. I’ve never been knocked unconscious like that, laying in that Octagon. All I know is one pace and that’s go forward and show the world who the cardio king is.”
Despite having not fought in a while since his decisive win over Masvidal in March 2022, Covington stepped in as the backup for the rematch between Edwards and Usman in the following month. He emphatically believes that he has earned his title shot through immense hard work and effort, unlike Edwards. Commenting on Edwards’ career trajectory, Covington stated, “He had the right matchups at the right time to get to that point in his career. He didn’t earn it the hard way like I did, and Dec. 16 he’s going to find out that he’s going to get broken by the American dream.”