"Usman got rocked" - Josh Thomson explains how Colby Covington's 'sloppy' striking might pose problems for Kamaru Usman at UFC 268

Former UFC fighter Josh Thomson has revealed an overlooked aspect of Colby Covington's skillset that might pose problems for Kamaru Usman in their fight at UFC 268.

On an episode of Weighing In, hosted by former MMA referee John McCarthy, Thomson stated that Covington's sloppy striking skills might become an unlikely weapon in his arsenal.

He said:

"When I look back at their last fight, Colby landed a lot of clean, hard shots. Now I know that Usman's gotten better training with [Trevor] Wittman but I look at that fight and I think, there's a couple of times where Usman got rocked. And the word on the street, though, is that Colby doesn't have power. So if those shots were rocking him then, and Colby feels like he's gotten better, I think if he wrestles Usman a little bit more in the beginning and slows down Usman, those shots will land a little bit cleaner, and a little bit harder... His strikes come from weird angles... it's very awkward... Colby Covington does not have clean technique on the feet, it's very sloppy, it's wide... "

The first fight between Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman was a classic slugfest. The two NCAA wrestlers refused to take the fight to the ground and surprised fans by engaging in an all-out striking battle.

Although Colby Covington landed a significant number of strikes on Kamaru Usman, 'The Nigerian Nightmare' triumphed via his textbook striking, with cleaner, more powerful punches.

Usman ultimately finished Covington in the fifth round after dropping the former interim welterweight champion twice.

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Josh Thomson states Colby Covington 'has to wrestle' to win the rematch against Kamaru Usman

The majority of the MMA community was stunned to see an elite wrestler like Colby Covington's lack of takedown attempts in the first fight against Kamaru Usman at UFC 245.

The fight in 2019, which analysts thought would be decided on the ground, was never taken to the canvas by either of the two accomplished wrestlers.

Josh Thomson spoke about the lack of wrestling in the first fight. He then claimed that Colby would have to go back to his roots to win the rematch against the No.1 pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC.

He said:

"Usman is extremely talented and tough. He's very tough, I think he's gotten a lot better than Colby since the last time they fought. But it doesn't mean that Colby can't win. He can but he'll have to wrestle. If he doesn't wrestle again, I think something very similar happens in the [rematch]."

Watch Josh Thomson's review of Covington's unorthodox striking advantage over Kamaru Usman from 5:45 below: