Colby Covington attributed his subpar performance against Leon Edwards at UFC 296 to ring rust and a foot injury he claims to have sustained early in the fight, which he believes significantly hindered his mobility and overall ability to compete effectively.
Colby Covington blamed ring rust for his subpar showing at UFC 296. He’d been out of the game for nearly two years, after all.
But wait, there’s more. The welterweight, known for his brash talk, now says he was also hurt early on during the clash last Saturday.
On the PBD podcast, Covington spilled the beans. He claimed his foot broke when Edwards’ elbow met his first kick. “I knew it was bad,” he admitted, but kept mum to avoid tipping off his opponent.
“I broke my foot in like the first 30 seconds,” Covington revealed. He’s got the X-rays and even a photo on his phone. The exact moment? It was when his foot slammed into Edwards’ elbow.
By the end of round one, his foot was ballooning. “Man, that hurts,” he thought. He usually takes a breather on the stool, but not this time. His foot throbbed from hitting the wrong spot.
From the get-go, Covington hung back. He stayed near the cage, on the defensive, as Edwards, the UFC champ, took his shots.
Edwards’ leg kicks were brutal. They left Covington’s thigh a mess of bruises, hampering the wrestler’s agility.
Post-fight, Covington pointed to his foot as the main reason for his defeat. “I couldn’t step on it,” he said, explaining why Edwards’ kicks landed so easily.
Despite the pain, he tried to adapt. “Just deal with it,” he told himself, attempting to block the onslaught. Edwards, sensing Covington’s timing, eased up on the kicks.
The decision didn’t go Covington’s way. It was his third swing and a miss at the UFC belt. He insisted he deserved the win, but Dana White, UFC’s head honcho, saw it differently. White thought Covington appeared “slow and old.”
Now 2-3 in his last five UFC fights, Covington still blames that pesky foot injury. “It’s tough,” he confessed. His mobility was shot, and he felt stuck, but quitting? Not an option.