The lower over Colby Covington’s eye at UFC Tampa was so unhealthy that his longtime pal and cornerman Chael Sonnen was able to cease his battle towards Joaquin Buckley if the physician and the referee didn’t do it first.
It was a tough night time on the workplace for Covington after he received battered across the octagon for two-plus rounds with Buckley in management all through, however a gash opened early within the battle solely continued to worsen with every passing minute. By the point the battle was deep into the third spherical, Covington was sporting a crimson masks however even worse, the blood from the lower was pouring proper into his eye and even Sonnen felt like sufficient was sufficient.
“He’s busted open so unhealthy the physician has to take a look at it 3 times,” Sonnen stated concerning the battle on his YouTube channel. “Twice he stops the motion to let it maintain going. The third time he stated ‘we are able to’t go anymore.’ I used to be going to cease that battle. I already grabbed the towel. When the physician got here in for the third time, and I’m watching that blood, it’s not stopping and it’s going into the attention. That’s the one factor you’re actually searching for.
“Once we as battle followers, we as powerful guys, assume the physician ought to have stopped it, we’re speaking about it doesn’t actually matter how unhealthy the lower is from our perspective so long as it’s not going within the eye. If it’s blinding a man, it doesn’t matter if it’s slightly or quite a bit, if it’s in his eye, and he can not see out of that eye, it’s the identical factor. It’s the very same factor.”
Following the top of the battle, Covington barely caught round to listen to the outcome earlier than he stormed out of the octagon whereas Buckley began his celebration.
On the post-fight press convention, UFC CEO Dana White stated that he believes the battle would have been allowed to proceed if the bout was taking place in Nevada versus Florida.
Which may be White’s opinion however Sonnen really disagrees and he backs the choice to cease the battle.
“This was unhealthy,” Sonnen stated concerning the lower. “This was within the eye. I actually stood up so I might see what the physician was doing. I instructed Charlie, the No. 2 [coach], I stated ‘hand me that towel, I’m stopping this.’ I deliver that to you as a result of the referee was taking some criticism. Properly, let me be truthful right here, I noticed what they noticed.”
Whereas the battle ended because of the lower, Sonnen nonetheless praised Covington’s toughness whereas going up towards an actual powerhouse in Buckley, who was unloading big, heavy photographs all through.
Covington struggled to get a lot offense going outdoors of a takedown within the second spherical however even that didn’t give him a lot of a bonus as Buckley stayed affected person till he was in a position to work his manner again to the toes.
Nonetheless, Sonnen needs issues performed out slightly otherwise given Covington’s conditioning and talent to push a tempo that almost all opponents can’t sustain with.
“I feel we had been down each rounds going into the third,” Sonnen stated. “However then I used to be instructed that one of many judges had it 1-1. I’m not right here to relive that, I simply felt that the tide was turning. Buckley was an actual sport about that. He stated ‘hey, I used to be fading slightly bit’ and it’s necessary that Buckley understands that.
“As a result of Buckley did nothing fallacious. He simply has to learn to prolong. Should you’re going to be combating like this, you do such a great job with the media, he’s going to be headlining occasions. So meaning he’s going to be within the 5 spherical membership and it’s good for Buckley to know the place that vitality goes.”
The scorecards launched after the battle really had Covington down 20-18 throughout the board and the third spherical didn’t begin a lot completely different than the earlier two.
Regardless, Sonnen praised Covington for the guts he confirmed all through the battle, particularly his capacity to take Buckley’s greatest punches with out backing down in any way.
“There was nowhere Colby even winced,” Sonnen stated. “There was nowhere that he flinched. There was by no means a time he stepped backwards. There was not a time he went down and I give you that as a result of there was a time that he went down but it surely wasn’t from a punch. There was a punch as he slipped as he went down.
“Whenever you have a look at the grit-meter, this was considered one of Colby’s greatest fights. Whenever you have a look at the digging deep, this doesn’t exchange the battle with Kamaru Usman however godd*mn, it’s proper there. Whenever you have a look at grit, you have a look at the photographs that he took, you have a look at the injury that they did, he didn’t care.”
