Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
UFC Vegas 11 went down last night (Sat., Sept. 19, 2020) inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, featuring a Welterweight bout between former division champion, Tyron Woodley, taking on Colby Covington. The end result saw “Chaos” dominate Woodley and eventually earn a fifth round technical knockout after “The Chosen One” couldn’t continue because of an apparent rib injury (see it again here). In the co-main event, Donald Cerrone and Niko Price fought to a majority draw after 15 minutes of action (recap).
Biggest Winner: Colby Covington
Not only did Covington pick up a huge win over Woodley, but he backed up all of the talk and claims he spewed out over the last few years. Indeed, “Chaos” was adamant he always got the best of “The Chosen One” in training and, judging by the outcome of last night’s bout, it seems he wasn’t fibbing. As far as his career goes, Covington cemented his spot as one of the top contenders to fight for the title next. Division king Kamaru Usman will face Gilbert Burns next, but “Chaos” made a good case for himself to face the winner. Sorry, Leon Edwards. He also got a phone call from President Trump in the middle of his post-fight interview. And that’s a pretty damn big deal.
Runner Up: Khazmat Chimaev
They hype is real! Chimaev picked up his third win inside the Octagon in just 66 days, a new record for the company. His latest win, though, really put everyone in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions on notice after knocking out Gerald Meerschaert in just 17 seconds. That performance is definitely good enough to convince even his biggest naysayers that he should be considered a legit threat. Not only that, but UFC President, Dana White, is head over heels for “Borz,” singing his praises afterward, as well as giving him a cool $50,000 post-fight bonus check. Now, Chimaev will look to make yet another turnaround, as he is expected to face Demian Maia next month on “Fight Island,” which would be his toughest test to date inside the Octagon.
Biggest Loser: Tyron Woodley
From calling himself the greatest UFC Welterweight champion in UFC’s history to suffering three straight losses, it’s been a drastic fall from the top for “The Chosen One.” His latest defeat pretty much looked like the first two suffered at the hands of Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns: complete shutouts. What makes his latest defeat sting a bit more is the personal beef he had with Covington. So after getting completely and utterly dominated by “Chaos” before losing in the fifth round via technical knockout (injury), he now has to hear the never-ending gloating. That aside, Woodley is now at a crossroads in his career, and it doesn’t bode well for him that White stated after the fight that maybe retirement was the best option.
For complete UFC Vegas 11 result and coverage click here.