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BY ERIC STINTON
AUG 5, 2019
Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.
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Colby Covington is perhaps the greatest Rorschach test in the Ultimate Fighting Championship today. Fans of his see him as a Making America Great Again patriot dunking on the nerds and virgins of the world; detractors see him as a corny caricature who thinks being annoying is the same as being alpha. Some love him for his toughness and tenacity in the cage, while others loathe him for his inability to finish fights. Regardless, people seem to love and hate him for the same reasons, and whatever you think of him probably says a lot more about you than it does about him.
This gives Covington a veneer of complexity, but in reality, he’s one of the most straightforward and simple fighters to understand. He’s an astute observer of what makes fighters successful, both in and out of the cage, and he has dedicated himself to realizing those traits to the fullness of his potential.
Speaking purely in competitive terms, there is no denying Covington’s success. After his sole career loss in 2015, he has since gone on a tear, winning seven consecutive fights in increasingly dominant fashion against increasingly tougher opposition. It’s not just the results that are important, though; it’s how he has won. Covington began his career as a gritty wrestler -- he was an All-American and Pac-10 champion at Oregon State University -- and that’s still the base of his game. Yet Covington uses his wrestling in a way that is trickier than meets the eye. Consider his win against Robbie Lawler at UFC on ESPN 5 on Saturday in Newark, New Jersey. Covington went 10 for 18 on takedowns, yet had exactly zero guard passes, ground strikes or submission attempts. That’s worth consideration.
What Covington realized early on is that nearly all UFC champions, regardless of their skill set, have two things in common: pressure and volume. His takedowns enhance both. They sap the energy out of opponents and force them to move backwards, and all but the most advanced strikers in the sport still struggle to mount meaningful offense off of their back foot. Just as important, the threat of takedowns disrupts opponents’ rhythm, effectively freezing them in place and allowing Covington to throw endless barrages with little fear of counters. Against Lawler, his striking looked cleaner and more precise than ever, but on its own, it’s still not great. His defensive holes are mostly covered by the fact that his takedowns are an ever-present threat.
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