Michael Bisping believes UFC 296 marks Colby Covington's last shot at championship glory, analyzes Leon Edwards' path to victory
Colby Covington is set to make his return to the octagon at UFC 296 next month after more than 21 months of inactivity.
'Chaos' is set to challenge Leon Edwards for the welterweight title, marking his third time challenging for the belt. Former middleweight champion and reigning mixed martial arts analyst Michael Bisping recently revealed that the bout may be the No.3-ranked welterweight's last title opportunity.
On his self-titled YouTube channel, the UFC Hall of Famer said:
"Here’s what is going to make Colby very, very dangerous come fight night. He’s (35) years old. This is his last title fight. It’s as simple as that. This will be his third time fighting for the belt.
"Twice against Kamaru Usman, didn’t get the job done. Got stopped once, went to a decision the next time. Very competitive fights, though, very competitive fights but it doesn’t matter. He didn’t win. He didn’t become the champion."
Bisping added that he believes Edwards' path to victory will be by simply keeping the fight on the feet:
"If he can maintain range, if he can keep at a distance, he can use the jabs, the straight shots, punish Colby with knees and elbows on the inside and use those head kicks in stunning fashion and just basically keep the fight off the ground. That’s it in a nutshell.
"If he can keep the fight off the ground, he’s probably going to retain the belt, but it ain’t going to be easy because Colby is like an Energizer Bunny. He just never stops. He keeps coming and coming and coming. He’s got cardio for days."
Check out Michael Bisping's comments on Colby Covington vs Leon Edwards below (starting at the 1:30 mark):
Michael Bisping added that Colby Covington's cardio will be his biggest advantage in the title bout. Leon Edwards will look to defend his title for the second time at UFC 296.
Colby Covington claims Leon Edwards didn't earn title opportunity
Colby Covington has faced accusations of having 'Dana White privilege' after receiving a title shot that many deemed unwarranted. Nevertheless, 'Chaos' recently claimed that Leon Edwards is, in fact, the fighter who had an easy path to a title shot.
Speaking with Gavin Porter of UFC.com, Covington said:
"He had the right matchups at the right time to get to that point in his career. He fought a lightweight washout in Nate Diaz and sat out almost two years to get his title shot... I had to earn it the hard way.
"No one gave me this spot to fight for the undisputed title. I had to earn i. t... He didn’t earn it the hard way like I did, and December 16th he’s going to find out that he’s going to get broken by the American dream."
Colby Covington has not entered the octagon since beating Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272, leading many, including Leon Edwards, to claim that he did not deserve a title opportunity.
He will look to silence his critics when he challenges for the welterweight title after nearly two years of inactivity.