What happened in Colby Covington's last UFC fight?
Colby Covington’s last fight was a welterweight bout against his longtime rival Tyron Woodley. The fight headlined the UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Woodley event and witnessed Covington defeat Woodley via fifth-round TKO.
The welterweight bout between Colby Covington and Tyron Woodley was scheduled for five rounds. It was a pivotal matchup for the UFC welterweight division at the time. The general consensus was that its winner would move closer to a title shot whereas the loser would be out of the title picture for the foreseeable future.
When the stakes were high and the margin for error was extremely low, ‘Chaos’ delivered. A former interim UFC welterweight champion, Colby Covington once again proved himself to be a championship-caliber fighter by stopping the durable and always-dangerous Tyron Woodley.
Colby Covington vs. Tyron Woodley
Tyron Woodley, akin to Colby Covington, is no stranger to UFC world title gold. In fact, while Covington is a former interim champion, Woodley is a former undisputed champion. ‘The Chosen One’ previously held the undisputed UFC welterweight title.
Woodley lost the UFC welterweight title to current champion Kamaru Usman in 2019. The following year, Woodley suffered a tough decision loss against Gilbert Burns. This was Woodley’s first fight since losing his title, and what came next was an even bigger fight.
For years, Colby Covington and Tyron Woodley trained together at the world-renowned ATT (American Top Team). Tension between them gradually increased over the years. Consequently, Covington started publicly issuing call-outs, challenging Woodley to fight him. The grudge match finally took place at UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Woodley on September 19th, 2020.
Colby Covington managed to utilize an extraordinary pace and a relentlessly aggressive strategy right from the get-go. This paid off, as Covington dominated both the striking and grappling exchanges in the fight. The end came at the 1:19-minute mark of round five.
Tyron Woodley injured his rib in the fifth and final round of the fight. Woodley was rendered unable to compete and Colby Covington was declared the winner via fifth-round TKO.
Colby Covington will fight for the undisputed UFC welterweight title in 2021
Colby Covington faced Kamaru Usman for the undisputed UFC welterweight title at UFC 245 (December 2019) but lost the back-and-forth fight via fifth-round TKO.
Nevertheless, Colby Covington’s next fight – his brilliant win over Tyron Woodley – brought him right back into the mix. Covington is now scheduled to face Usman in a rematch for the UFC welterweight title at UFC 268 in November 2021.