"Whatever he's doing, it's working" - John McCarthy believes Colby Covington has more power in his hands now, but 'his kicks still s**k'
![Colby Covington and John McCarthy [Left photo via @ufceurope on Instagram]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2021/11/60963-16364499862122-1920.jpg?w=500)
Former UFC referee 'Big' John McCarthy has noticed a significant improvement in Colby Covington's game.
McCarthy praised Covington for showcasing stronger punching power during his championship rematch with Kamaru Usman at UFC 268 this past weekend. During the latest episode of the Weighing In podcast, McCarthy assessed Covington's performance, saying:
"Colby's power has gotten better. He's throwing with more power. He's setting down on his punches, I think he has more power today in his shots than he did when he first fought Usman. I still think his kicks suck, okay. I'm just being honest. But his power in his hands... whatever he's doing, it's working for him. He's getting sting on the end of that shot. It's just not enough to matchup with what Usman has and he was taking the bigger blows throughout the contest. I thought he actually fought really well."
McCarthy is still critical of Colby Covington's arsenal of kicks, though. Despite McCarthy's criticism, however, 'Chaos' found success with a liver kick in the fourth round that sent the champion reeling. Ultimately, Covington's efforts fell short as he suffered yet another loss at the hands of Usman.
All three judges scored the bout in favor of the champion, 48-47, 48-47, 49-46, after five rounds of action.
Watch John McCarthy's take on Colby Covington's performance at UFC 268:
Colby Covington believes he deserved decision win over Kamaru Usman
Although Colby Covington appeared to have buried the hatchet with Kamaru Usman, the two-time title challenger argued that he deserved the nod at UFC 268. Speaking to reporters after the weekend's main event clash, Covington said:
"I’m definitely not proud of my performance. I should have won that. It was laser thin again. I honestly thought I had it 3-2. It was very close. He clipped me, I clipped him a couple times. Whatever media reporter in here said I went for 11 takedowns and had unsuccessful attempts, fake news. Do real journalism. That’s why you guys are journalists. You don’t have journalism degrees cause you put this fake news out. I obviously took him down so I broke that stat so you can’t hype him up anymore and say he’s never been taken down cause I took him down."