When Leon Edwards and Colby Covington square off against one other at UFC 296 the following weekend, Edwards believes that Covington will be given a rude awakening.
Over the course of 2016, ‘Chaos’ has only suffered defeat twice, and both of those defeats came at the hands of Kamaru Usman.
Covington’s most recent five opponents have all been previous UFC champions or title challengers. This is due to the fact that he has won against Robbie Lawler, Tyron Woodley, and Jorge Masvidal in between his title defeats.
However, Edwards is of the opinion that a significant number of Covington’s recent adversaries have reached the end of their prime. The welterweight champion is certain that ‘Chaos’ will be out of his depth at UFC 296 due to the fact that he has only fought three times since the year 2019.
The inactivity of Colby Covington has been the primary focus of the criticism that has been leveled toward him, and Leon Edwards is convinced that he will have the opportunity to reveal ‘Chaos’ during their fight.
‘Rocky’ disclosed the following information in a recent interview with MMAFightingonSBN:
I do not believe that [Covington] is talented; rather, I believe that he is more of a hard worker. He is more skillful than he is cardio. But they are basing their assessment of his cardiovascular fitness on the fact that he defeated Robbie Lawler five or six years ago. What he is about to experience is quite different. That was Robbie Lawler, who had already been washed, and it was over the hill.
To continue, Leon Edwards stated:
“Every single one of his victories, which he uses to boost his self-confidence, are all older, more experienced players. It is going to be a harsh revelation for him when Saturday night arrives.A “rude awakening” is what Colby Covington is going to experience at UFC 296, according to Leon Edwards, who explains why.
Leon Edwards says his wins over Kamaru Usman give him the confidence to beat Colby Covington
Kamaru Usman was the opponent that Leon Edwards faced in his two most recent fights, which took place at UFC 278 and UFC 286.
During the last minute of Round 5 of UFC 278, “Rocky” astonished the world by knocking out Usman with a head kick, so becoming the new welterweight champion. This victory was a momentous occasion.
In their subsequent fight, which took place at UFC 286, the two competitors squared off once more. Edwards went on to win by unanimous decision, so retaining his title.
During the aforementioned interview with MMAFightingonSBN, Leon Edwards was questioned about whether or not he derived confidence from Usman’s victories against Covington in advance of the champion’s fight with ‘Chaos’ at UFC 296.
After Usman’s victory against Covington by technical knockout at UFC 245, the two competitors fought each other again at UFC 268. This time, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ prevailed by decision.
This is what Edwards said:
To a certain extent, because every combat is unique. But only a minor amount. The physicality that Usman possesses in the octagon is superior to his own. In addition to that, Usman has a fantastic pace that is really suffocating. I just don’t understand how someone like Colby could possibly be able to beat me. I have been confronted with his style throughout my entire career, which is a style that is built on boxing and wrestling, and that is precisely what he is. [During the aforementioned interview, between 3:55 and 4:35]
