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Michael Bisping gives his take on Colby Covington’s UFC 245 loss to Kamaru Usman.
From a relatively unknown fighter two years ago, Colby Covington managed to transform himself into one of the biggest controversial figures in MMA today. But his “heel” persona was somehow tapered by his loss to Kamaru Usman on Saturday at UFC 245.
To make things worse for the loud-talking “Chaos,” he was also rendered with a broken jaw. Some people enjoyed seeing Covington suffer, and for Michael Bisping, that added injury is also a form of karma striking back.
“He even said that Marty Fakenewsman was going to be drinking through a straw because he was gonna break his jaw,” Bisping said on a recent episode of his Believe You Me podcast (transcript by MMA News). “That is karma right then and there. It was a just stoppage. [Referee Marc] Goddard did a good job, the eye poke was real. Listen, it was a great fight.”
Covington is now forced into the sidelines for six months because of his broken jaw, but Bisping says the recovery time may not be that long, but psychological effect of it may not go away.
“I’m not sure how long the recovery of a broken jaw is. It might not be that long, I think he could be back within six months,” he said. “But you know, the real recovery from suffering a broken jaw is the mental side of things. You know what I mean? Cause that’s your money maker to a certain degree. They talk about people say, ‘oh his chin is gone.’
“But when you’ve broken your f—ng jaw, we’ve seen historically one time someone breaks the jaw it becomes more susceptible to breaking again. And there’s got to be a certain psychological demon there.
“I think if you were to have your jaw broken, you’re definitely gonna be a little gun shy going forward cause you’re like, ‘f—k, last time this jaw got broke,’” he added. “And if you start making a habit of getting your jaw broken, you’re a fighter so your career as a fighter is over. It’s done, it’s finished.”
Covington’s spirit doesn’t seem to be broken by the loss, at least according to American Top Team owner Dan Lambert.