It’s like that scene from Gate II when that guy hits the floor and shatters into a dozen little trolls.
I’ve got some bad news for those mixed martial arts (MMA) fans who can’t stomach Colby Covington.
The recently-crowned Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) interim welterweight champion is essentially self made, using his gift of gab — along with some conveniently placed cameras — to relay his shtick to the masses.
Sure, some feelings got hurt along the way, but Covington is now sitting pretty atop the 170-pound weight class with a belt in tow and a potential Tyron Woodley title unification bout somewhere in his very near future.
It’s not a particularly complex formula and it’s proven to be successful, which is why former UFC title contender, Chael Sonnen, expects to see more of the same from the next generation of MMA fighters.
“In many ways, he’s going to reinvent the sport,” Sonnen told The MMA Hour. “People are going to start copying him. He’s the first guy to come out and go, ‘Look, I’m just looking to entertain you. If the UFC isn’t going to bring me cameras, I’ll hire my own production crew, I’ll pay them, but I’m going to get this content recorded and out to the masses.’”
I guess people got tired of copying Conor McGregor.
Covington, in many ways, picked up where Sonnen left off when “The American Gangster” retired from combat sports. Once the most hated man in Brazil, Sonnen appears to have passed that torch to “Chaos” late last year.
No word yet when Covington will battle Woodley for “The Chosen One’s” strap, but the promotion has indicated something might be in the works for later this fall. That means fans can expect the pre-fight jibber-jabber to get worse before it gets better.