Is it possible that we never see Colby Covington inside the Octagon again? Chael Sonnen certainly thinks so.
In the months leading up to his highly anticipated return at UFC 296, Covington talked a very big game but failed to deliver, offering up a relatively flat and uninspiring performance against reigning welterweight world champion Leon Edwards. Following the loss, ‘Chaos’ was still in relatively good spirits, promising the live crowd that he would be back and better than ever.
But will he really?
Chael Sonnen is not convinced Colby Covington wants to start Over
Covington intends to be more active in the future, even angling for a scrap with Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson in 2024. Another name that has popped up for Covington is undefeated standout Shavkat Rakhmonov. Chael Sonnen likes both of those ideas, but after ‘Chaos’ came up short in three title fights, two of which he arguably didn’t earn, ‘The American Gangster’ is not convinced that the staunch Trump supporter is willing to work his way back up.
“I love your suggestion of Rakhmonov. I’m just not sure Dana will even make that suggestion to Colby,” Sonnen said after UFC 296 (via MMAJunkie). “What I worry about is will he take it? I don’t know where his heart is at. To go up that mountain as many times as he did. Colby’s career is a riddle.
“He’s had three world title fights, he was an interim champion, he never lost, he woke up one day, he wasn’t the interim champion. He fought the reigning ‘BMF’ champion, dominated him, and never became ‘BMF’ champion. I think that there’s some real frustrations. I just don’t know if he wants to start over. That’s the hard truth. I don’t know that we see Colby Covington again.”
After winning seven straight fights, Covington scored his first UFC title opportunity against Kamaru Usman at UFC 245. ‘Chaos’ suffered a fifth-round knockout, but he talked his way into a rematch two years later. And while he fared much better in the sequel, he still lost via a unanimous decision.
He has now lost three of his last five dating back to 2019.