UFC Star Shares Bold Prediction For Leon Edwards Vs. Colby Covington
One former two-division UFC champion has gotten quite bold in his prediction for the UFC 296 main event between Leon Edwards and Colby Covington.
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Covington was tabbed by Dana White as the next challenger for the welterweight belt immediately after Edwards defeated Kamaru Usman in their rematch at UFC 286. It took quite a while for the matchup to finally get booked, but the two men are now set to meet in the main event of UFC 296 on December 16.
“Chaos” has managed to keep his name in the headlines this year despite the fact that he hasn’t fought since a decision win over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272, and while discussing the Edwards’ matchup Henry Cejudo acknowledged that the controversial welterweight doesn’t exactly have a fan-friendly style.
“Colby Covington just has one style, and that style is to just wrestle," Cejudo said on his YouTube channel. "To hug you – call it whatever it is that you wanna call it…Yeah, his fight style is boring. He will go out there and he will just hug your leg, and he will do that. But, Colby does finish people. He literally takes you down, he eventually starts pounding and he starts doing X, Y and Z.
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An Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling himself, Cejudo certainly isn’t about to fault a fighter for relying heavily on their grappling. Covington’s wrestling was largely stifled by Usman during their two meetings, but “Triple C” thinks the style matchup at UFC 296 will be far more favorable for the challenger.
“This matchup is perfect for Colby. I think we are gonna have a new champion...I don’t think Leon Edwards’ takedown defense is gonna be enough for a guy like Colby Covington. Colby Covington, his time is just coming. The only person that can beat Colby Covington is just another great wrestler. Another wrestler who can really defend takedowns, another wrestler who is willing to make Colby Covington fight on his feet.”
Edwards doesn’t come from a wrestling background but has made tremendous strides in that area of his game during his current 12-fight unbeaten streak. “Rocky” claimed the welterweight title with a dramatic head kick against Usman at UFC 278, and in their immediate rematch Edwards was able to largely shut down the former champion’s takedown game to win a majority decision.
UFC 296 will be the promotion’s final PPV event of the year, and along with the headlining welterweight title fight the card also features Alexandre Pantoja defending his flyweight belt against Brandon Royval as well as several other high-profile matchups that have all been announced within the last week.
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