5 reasons why Colby Covington may not be as skilled as he seems

Colby Covington is a former UFC interim welterweight champion. From a statistical standpoint, he has an impressive MMA record of 17 wins and just three losses across his entire career. He is also among the brashest personalities in the promotion due to his vitriolic and even hyperbolic trash talk.

He once claimed that he would have easily defeated all-time great mixed martial artist Georges St-Pierre if the pair ever locked horns. He has even downplayed the nature of his two losses to former titleholder Kamaru Usman by arguing that he won both fights and was merely the victim of poor refereeing and judging.

Due to his success and vocalness, he is often regarded as the second-best welterweight in the world. UFC president Dana White once said that if Kamaru Usman never existed, 'Chaos' would have been the 170 lbs champion. While the All-American is a high-level fighter, he may not be as skilled as advertised.

#5. Colby Covington hasn't beaten anyone currently ranked in the top ten

The last three fighters that Colby Covington defeated were not on win streaks at the time of their clash. Furthermore, the quality of his last seven opponents can be called into question given that 'Chaos' has not beaten anyone currently ranked in the welterweight top-ten ranking system.

Quote Fan: Colby Covington has Zero wins over any Current Top 10 welterweights

Thoughts? https://t.co/LhIdTeCc5L

His latest win came against Jorge Masvidal, who is on a three-fight losing streak and is ranked outside the top ten. His prior win was against Tyron Woodley, who is on a four-fight losing streak and is no longer in the UFC. Prior to facing 'The Chosen One', his previous win was against Robbie Lawler.

Unfortunately, 'Ruthless' is an unranked fighter. Meanwhile, Rafael dos Anjos is a lightweight, Demian Maia is not in the UFC, Dong Hyun Kim is retired and Bryan Barbarena is unranked. His claim to fame as far as being a high-level fighter is concerned is how closely contested his bouts with Kamaru Usman were.

#4. Colby Covington's bouts with Kamaru Usman deserve closer inspection

Much has been made of how well Colby Covington performed against Kamaru Usman in the pair's two bouts. The foul-mouthed 170'er is often credited with being responsible for giving 'The Nigerian Nightmare' the two toughest fights of his career. While that is indeed true, their two matchups require more scrutiny.

Both Covington and Usman are wrestlers by trade. Neither man is a striker even if they've improved their kickboxing. Most of their success as strikers comes from making their opponents fear their takedowns. For example, the Nigerian's famous knockout against Jorge Masvidal was due to his foe dropping his hands to sprawl.

Covington has received tremendous praise for his close fights with Usman, but neither man has used their main strength—wrestling—much at all in both matchups. Instead, 'Chaos' is given credit for having a close kickboxing match against a fighter who is a wrestler, not a kickboxer.

#3. His main weapon is his pace

Colby Covington is an elite wrestler, but more than anything, he is a tireless machine who overwhelms his opponents. While his success inside the octagon does depend on his wrestling abilities, the former NCAA Division I wrestler relies mainly on his relentless cardio to create openings for his takedowns.

Colby Covington is a cardio machine 😳

Absolutely relentless from start to finish...

Complete domination 👊

#UFCNewark https://t.co/FFlscbvtHo

He is different from Georges St-Pierre, who raises his opponent's guard with his jab and then uses his Kyokushin stance to dart in for a well-timed takedown. Instead, 'Chaos' overwhelms his opponents with a stream of constant activity to overload their decision-making process.

A fighter like Alexander Volkanovski does something similar, but he incorporates feints. Colby Covington, however, is far more chaotic. He banks on his opponents not having the cardio to match the pace that he sets as opposed to having a more technical foundation behind what he does.

#2. Toughness is his main form of striking defense

Colby Covington is not a defensive wizard who opponents find difficult to tag. One thing that fans learned about 'Chaos' from his two wars with Kamaru Usman is just how tough he is. In the pair's first fight, the former interim champion suffered a broken jaw, which was very visible from how swollen it was.

“When you share an octagon with someone this tough, you can’t help it. That respect is going to come.”

— Kamaru Usman after going 5 rounds with Colby Covington #UFC268

@USMAN84kg 🤝 @ColbyCovMMA https://t.co/XbKbQi0sO1

The injury took place in the third round of their fight, yet Covington managed to persevere and continue fighting until he was finally TKO'd two rounds later with just a minute left in the fight. His subsequent war with Usman was yet another fight during which Covington's toughness was on full display.

Regarding his defensive striking, 'Chaos' is limited. Besides some rudimentary head movement, he isn't difficult to hit. His main form of defense in the kickboxing department stems from being able to absorb a tremendous amount of damage and recovering quickly after being hurt.

#1. Colby Covington has almost no offensive Brazilian jiu-jitsu

The biggest hole in Colby Covington's game isn't his striking. Instead, it is the welterweight star's complete lack of offensive Brazilian jiu-jitsu. A glimpse of his record shows four wins via submission. However, those submissions are either rear-naked chokes or arm-triangle chokes.

🚨 FUN FACT 🚨
Khabib Nurmagomedov has a more recent finish than Colby Covington despite being retired for almost 3 years now https://t.co/gexxsDMPrK

These submissions are common in wrestling circles, but even then, 'Chaos' doesn't resort to rear-naked chokes as often as he should given his positional grappling. He frequently finds himself in a position to take his opponent's back but rarely threatens them with rear-naked chokes.

A common theme among top-tier welterweights is how often they get on all fours to stand up. In doing so, they expose their backs. Yet the last time that 'Chaos' secured a submission win was seven years ago in 2016.