"They both respected each other" - Chael Sonnen explains why Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington didn't wrestle in their first fight at UFC 245

Chael Sonnen (left); Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington (Right) [Photo via YouTube.com]

Former UFC middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen is convinced that Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman "respected" each other's wrestling prowess which led to an exciting standup firefight.

Sonnen believes Usman and Covington are both aware it would be burdensome to outwrestle the other. For that reason, Sonnen reckons the competitors avoided grappling altogether. In the latest episode of his YouTube show, Sonnen explained:

"They go in there... Covington, Division 1 All-American; Usman, Division 2 champion. They both respected each other's wrestling [that] not only was there no wrestling in that match, neither attempted wrestling."

However, Sonnen is of the belief that the UFC 268 main event will be completely different. 'The American Gangster' added:

"I don't think that's gonna happen this time. I think they're both gonna look for the takedown, test that wrestling theory, see what they can do. But when they threw that out ahead of time... Colby decided in the locker room the juice isn't worth the squeeze here. Not positive (Covington) could get him down, I know it's a lot of energy. What didn't know was Usman thought the same thing."

In their first meeting, Usman successfully retained the UFC welterweight title after stopping Covington in the fifth round by TKO. Usman has since defended the title three more times and climbed to the top spot in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings. A rematch between Usman and Covington is set for UFC 268 on November 6.

Watch Chael Sonnen's breakdown of Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington 2:

Kamaru Usman trolls Colby Covington

UFC 268 is several weeks away, but mind games have already begun for Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington. The reigning welterweight champion recently posted a video on Twitter to remind the challenger of what happened when they first crossed paths.

As my man @ErrolSpenceJr would say… ManDown 👊🏿😤 #IbrokeYourFace twitter.com/Saidegal1/stat…

Not only did Covington leave UFC 245 with a devastating loss, but he also did so with a broken jaw. Since then, 'The Nigerian Nightmare' has taken every opportunity to take a shot at Covington