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Apart from the welterweight title, American Top Team owner Dan Lambert also feels that the Colby Covington persona is on the line at UFC 245.
From being a relatively unknown fighter four years ago, Colby Covington shot up to fame in 2017 because of some controversial comments he made against Brazilians. “Chaos” held on to that heel role ever since, which ultimately landed him a headliner title shot against Kamaru Usman at UFC 245.
Usman vs. Covington will determine the undisputed UFC welterweight champion. But according to American Top Team owner Dan Lambert, a lot more is at stake for his fighter.
“I think Colby’s schtick and personality is a lot more effective when he is winning fights,” Lambert told BJPenn.com. “So, this is a big one, a really big one.”
With this assessment, Lambert still believes Covington is the better fighter based on the work ethic he’s seen.
“Colby’s camps are the same as they always are. Colby comes in and he works,” Lambert said. “He is not one to mess around. If the fight doesn’t go his way, it isn’t because he didn’t put the work in. There is no coincidence why his cardio is so good, his striking improved so much from one fight to the next. The guy puts in the work.
“Everybody has a theory until the fight starts. It will come down to who is the better fighter, and Colby is a better fighter than Usman,” he added. “Usman is really, really good, but he is only that good when he can dictate the pace and take the breaks when he needs to take breaks. And he won’t be able to do that against Colby.
“Colby may not be able to do that to him either. Colby will have a few more weapons and an edge in the cardio.”
UFC 245 takes place on December 14th in Las Vegas. It will be preceded by two more title fights: Amanda Nunes vs. Germaine de Randamie for the women’s bantamweight title, and Max Holloway vs. Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight strap.