UFC News: Colby Covington Reveals X-Rays of Injury From Leon Edwards Fight
Colby Covington has shared X-rays of a debilitating injury that occurred during his welterweight title fight with Leon Edwards at UFC 296.
A former interim welterweight champion, Covington returned from a nearly two-year layoff last December at UFC 296 for his third crack at becoming the UFC’s undisputed welterweight king.
The 35-year-old’s lackluster performance against Edwards resulted in a unanimous decision loss, and in a recent Submission Radio interview Covington shared the X-rays of a broken foot that he suffered in the opening round of that fight.
Edwards largely dominated Covington at UFC 296.
(Stephen R. Sylvanie/USA TODAY Sports)
“I broke my foot right away and couldn’t plant or explode off of it to use the wrestling and pressure I planned to use,” Covington explained. “I didn’t want to disclose this information until I had the X-rays back home. I knew straight away it was bad. It was the first kick I threw, it landed right on his elbow.”
“Chaos” did mention a foot injury immediately following UFC 296, and the X-rays confirming that claim provide some explanation for how uncharacteristically tentative he appeared to be against Edwards.
The former interim titleholder was also quick to argue that he deserved to win the decision against Edwards, and Covington made sure to take a shot at the "haters" during his recent interview.
Covington felt he did enough at UFC 296 to take Edwards' title.
(Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
“Haters will still find a way to hate on me for fighting 25 minutes on one leg while landing over a hundred more strikes than Leon. But you know what? My haters are so broke, they can’t even pay attention. So f*** them.”
Covington did have a few moments of success at UFC 296 even with his injury, however, the stats from Fight Metric indicate the 35-year-old only landed 44 significant strikes over five rounds compared to 55 from Edwards.
The broken foot will likely keep Covington sidelined for the first few months of 2024, but the #6-ranked welterweight did call for a matchup with Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in the aftermath of UFC 296.
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