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Colby Covington’s Losing Run Blamed On American Top Team Exit: ‘Since He Left…’

For the first time in his pro career, Colby Covington is currently coming off of back-to-back losses. The former UFC interim welterweight champion returned this past weekend in Tampa where he was beaten by the surging Joaquin Buckley. “Chaos” has already spoken about the defeat where he outlined the significance of taking the fight on […]

“Chaos” has already spoken about the defeat where he outlined the significance of taking the fight on short notice and the cut that he suffered above his right eye which eventually led to the doctor waving the fight off in the third round. Covington stated that he was only just getting going at the time of the stoppage but up until that point, “New Mansa” was clearly and comfortably winning the fight.

Many fans and fellow fighters were also very critical about Covington’s previous outing at UFC 296 last December where he was totally shut out by Leon Edwards in a welterweight title fight. Having been 15-1 heading into his first meeting with Kamaru Usman in 2019 to now being 17-5, some may simply put his decline in form down to his age.

At 36-years old, it’s not surprising that Covington would begin to slow down especially as a fighter whose biggest weapon is his cardio and output. Josh Thomson, however, believes that the controversial welterweight might not be preparing as well as he could be.

Covington’s nine years at American Top Team in Florida ended in 2020 following several altercations with some of his teammates who had made it very clear that they no longer wanted him on the team due to some of his comments about them. The likes of Jorge Masvidal and Dustin Poirier have remained at ATT whilst Covington has since moved to MMA Masters in Miami.

Thomson, who is a former fighter turned commentator, said on the Weighing In Podcast that he believes this is taking away from the three-time title challenger.

“I’m going to simply say that once you’ve trained at a prestigious gym like American Top Team [ATT], and then you find your way out of it, running your own camp in a smaller facility without many top-level people to train with, especially after leaving a gym with a plethora of world-class fighters…. it’s noticeable. You saw it tonight. I don’t know if it’s the age, because I know he’s older, but let’s be honest, within two fights, he doesn’t look like the same person since he left American Top Team.”

Thomson believes that not having the kind of people that he needs to really push him has taken away what made Covington so effective in the first place. If he was going to beat Buckley on Saturday night, he needed to put the pace on him but if anything, it was the other way round.

“Those are the rounds where you’re trying to catch your second, sometimes third, wind. But not having the talent that he needs to help push his pace in training is what I feel like I’m seeing right now. I’m seeing a fighter who is having a hard time setting a pace inside the cage against world-class fighters because he doesn’t have world-class fighters to train with anymore.”

MMA Analyst Says Colby Covington Might Regret His Return Decision: ‘That’s A Different Buckley’

At UFC Tampa in the promotion’s final event of 2024, Colby Covington makes a somewhat unexpected return to face Joaquin Buckley in the main event on December 14. The former interim welterweight champion has been linked with a lot of different match-ups since his last fight against Leon Edwards in December of last year but […]

Covington will now be replacing Ian Machado Garry to take on the surging Buckley after Garry moved into the co-main event of UFC 310 to face Shavkat Rakhmonov. Though “New Mansa” is in the best form of his life right now, many see Buckley as a more winnable fight for Covington than some of the other names he has been linked with.

For as good as his winning streak at welterweight has been, he’s got some losses on his record and in some of those, he was outwrestled which is where the former three-time title challenger could get his hand raised.

Josh Thomson and “Big” John McCarthy raised this point during a recent episode of the Weighing In podcast where they said that “Chaos” may be underestimating Buckley for this very reason. McCarthy spoke about why Covington has decided to come back for this fight in particular.

“I look and I think Colby actually bit on this fight thinking ‘Alright, I’ve seen people out wrestle Buckley in the past and I can out wrestle him and take him down’. Now, that’s a different Buckley though too, Buckley’s a different fighter.”

McCarthy also made reference to Buckley’s 2018 loss in Bellator to Logan Storley, using this as a comparison to his next match-up.

“You can look at that and say well, Logan just outwrestled him and dropped him anytime he wanted and takedown stuff. Logan’s a better wrestler than Colby Covington ever was okay, sorry, and Buckley is way better now than he was back then.”

MMA Analyst Says Colby Covington Might Regret His Return Decision: ‘That’s A Different Buckley’

“I look and I think Colby actually bit on this fight thinking ‘Alright, I’ve seen people out wrestle Buckley in the past and I can out wrestle him and take him down’. Now, that’s a different Buckley though too, Buckley’s a different fighter.”

McCarthy also made reference to Buckley’s 2018 loss in Bellator to Logan Storley, using this as a comparison to his next match-up.

“You can look at that and say well, Logan just outwrestled him and dropped him anytime he wanted and takedown stuff. Logan’s a better wrestler than Colby Covington ever was okay, sorry, and Buckley is way better now than he was back then.”

MMA Analyst Says Colby Covington Might Regret His Return Decision: ‘That’s A Different Buckley’

“I look and I think Colby actually bit on this fight thinking ‘Alright, I’ve seen people out wrestle Buckley in the past and I can out wrestle him and take him down’. Now, that’s a different Buckley though too, Buckley’s a different fighter.”

McCarthy also made reference to Buckley’s 2018 loss in Bellator to Logan Storley, using this as a comparison to his next match-up.

“You can look at that and say well, Logan just outwrestled him and dropped him anytime he wanted and takedown stuff. Logan’s a better wrestler than Colby Covington ever was okay, sorry, and Buckley is way better now than he was back then.”

MMA Analyst Says Khamzat Chimaev Doesn’t Deserve A Middleweight Title Shot After Whittaker Win

For a lot of people, Khamzat Chimaev reminded them why he was once the talk of the MMA world with his performance this past weekend at UFC 308. The undefeated contender was able to submit Robert Whittaker in the first round in Abu Dhabi. Not only has the former middleweight champion only lost to the […]

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Not only has the former middleweight champion only lost to the absolute best at 185-pounds, no one has been able to tear right through him like that. After Chimaev secured an early takedown, he maintained control of the fight until applying a submission that instantly forced his opponent to tap after the damage that was done to his jaw.

The question then became whether this was enough for him to leapfrog over Sean Strickland and be the next man to challenge Dricus Du Plessis for the title. Strickland has been very clear that he’s the next in line after his split decision loss to Du Plessis in January and bounce back win over Paulo Costa.

Though most appear to be leaning towards Chimaev after that incredibly impressive performance, Josh Thomson doesn’t think that “Borz” deserves the next shot.

The former UFC fighter said during a recent episode of the Weighing In podcast that in his opinion, Chimaev hasn’t beaten enough legitimate middleweights to justify this. His last win over Kamaru Usman did take place at middleweight despite Usman moving up to the weight class on short notice.

Chimaev’s only other middleweight wins are over John Phillips on his UFC debut and Gerald Meerschaert who he stopped in under 20 seconds.

“He’s literally beat a bunch of 70 pounders but was supposed to be fighting at 85 and now, he’s not getting a title shot at 170, he’s getting a title shot at 185, it doesn’t make sense to me. Like I’m not saying that he’s not skilled and I’m also saying that in that fight with Gilbert Burns, he was exhausted and he was also exhausted in the Kamaru Usman fight, who is a 170 pounder. So look, I’m not taking away what he did today because what he did today spoke for itself, absolutely fantastic performance but we’ve seen this before where he’s dominated round one like this.”

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MMA Analyst Explains Why He Doesn’t Consider Jon Jones A ‘Great Champion’

Jon Jones is undeniably a cornerstone in the debate over who holds the title of the greatest MMA fighter of all time. His skills, beyond doubt, reinforce this assertion, showcasing a career marked by unparalleled success and accomplishments. “Bones” etched his name in the history books by becoming the youngest champion in UFC history at […]

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“Bones” etched his name in the history books by becoming the youngest champion in UFC history at just 23 years old, triumphing over Mauricio Rua at UFC 128 in March 2011.

Jones remained unbeaten during his reign as the UFC light heavyweight champion, successfully defending his title a staggering 13 times against the very best that the 205-pound division had to offer.

Despite his remarkable achievements, the 37-year-old New Yorker’s career has been marred by several notorious controversies that may overshadow his legacy. This, in fact, is the reason why Josh Thomson does not view “Bones” as a great champion in UFC history.

Thomson Says Jones’ Positive PED Results Mar His Reputation

During a recent episode of the WEIGHING IN podcast, “The Punk” and “Big” John McCarthy delved into the discussion surrounding the longest title defense streak in UFC history and pondered who truly deserves to be called a great champion.

The former UFC referee highlighted Jones’ name in the conversation, but Thomson challenged this notion, asserting that “Bones” testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs undermines his status as the most dominant champion in the sport’s history.

“What defines a great UFC champion is to never have tested positive for a f**king steroid or for a d*ck pill or for anything,” Thomson said. “So automatically, that’s going to exclude two guys that I hold in very high regard, despite one of them not liking my teammates, which is Jon Jones and Anderson Silva. I’m sorry, but that’s something—let’s not p*ssyfoot around this whole thing.”

Jones faced a one-year suspension in 2016 after failing a drug test for androgen-related substances prior to his highly anticipated UFC 200 matchup with Daniel Cormier. Later, “Bones” tested positive for turinabol, resulting in his victory over Cormier at UFC 214 being changed to a no-contest.

Thomson went on to emphasize that he regards former champions such as Demetrious Johnson, who boasts 11 title defenses, and Georges St-Pierre, with nine defenses to his name, as the greatest titleholders in UFC history.

Jones is preparing for his highly anticipated return to the Octagon after more than a year away, following his triumphant victory over Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in March 2023, where he captured the undisputed heavyweight title.

He is scheduled to defend his championship against former titleholder Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 309 on November 16, 2024, at the Madison Square Garden in New York City.