Colby Covington finally got a chance to beat Tyron Woodley and settle the scores, which he did. After a dominant performance of the former interim champion, the bout ended with a TKO stoppage, once Woodley suffered a rib injury 1:19 inside the last round. Their match was the highlight of the UFC 178.
In the moments when he was going for a guillotine, the “Chosen One,” as the fans call him, screamed out of pain, with the referee in the ring, Dan Miragliotta, stepping in and stopping the fight.
Colby (16-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) was excellent throughout the entire match, having the fourth round scored 10-8 in his favor, once he outworked Woodley (19-6-1 MMA, 9-5-1 UFC) enormously. The total number of strikes in that one was 113-2 for the younger American who was all over the big rival, putting him on his back early on. He controlled the fight from that position, inflicting numerous punches to his body, and some to his face.
Woodley’s face was all covered with blood after standing up at the end of this round.
It was obvious that the 38-year old veteran hasn’t got the speed and the stamina like before, while on the other hand, Colby was much better when it comes to wrestling, and especially his cardio.
Covington won for the eighth time over the past nine fights, with the only defeat coming against the welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in his last bout prior to this one. It was a title match which Colby lost in the fifth round, and one of the best contests in 2019.
After tonight’s fight, Colby announced that he wants two guys in the ring next, his former roommate and mentor, Jorge Masvidal, who recently fought Usman, on short notice, and the champion himself.
However, Dana White repeated that the only one who has the right to fight Usman is Gilbert Burns, the challenger who earned that with several excellent fights, among which were dominant wins over Woodley, Demian Maia, Gunnar Nelson, etc.
As for Woodley, even White mentioned that “he should start thinking about the retirement.” The former champion is nowhere near his previous level of fighting, with age and multiple injuries slowing down one of the most appealing and attractive fighters in UFC history.
A defeat against Colby was his third in a row after losses to Usman and Burns, both via unanimous decisions.