UFC 245: 3 reasons why Kamaru Usman defeated Colby Covington

#2 Without the threat of the takedown, Covington’s striking was exposed

Usman's striking proved to be technically superior to Covington's

Despite his considerable skill and undeniable rise up the Welterweight ranks in the UFC, no serious MMA fan would try to describe Colby Covington as a world-class striker, not like some of the other 170lbers out there like Jorge Masvidal or Stephen Thompson.

Despite that, ‘Chaos’ had been able to outstrike dangerous kickboxers like Robbie Lawler and Rafael Dos Anjos. But why?

Well, outside of the tremendous cardio and pace mentioned earlier, Covington had another massive weapon in his arsenal – his incredible wrestling. One of the best takedown artists in the 170lbs division, ‘Chaos’ was able to easily outwrestle the likes of Demian Maia and Dong Hyun Kim, and so when he came up against lesser grapplers like Lawler, the threat of his takedown forced them to fight more defensively – in turn opening them up to being hit by Covington.

Against Usman though, that threat didn’t exist. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ – a tremendous wrestler in his own right and perhaps even better than Covington – had never been taken down in his UFC career, not even by another great wrestler in Tyron Woodley. Realistically, Covington was never going to simply double-leg him to the ground.

That meant that Usman was able to simply combat ‘Chaos’ on the feet, and when it came down to a kickboxing battle, the Nigerian was the superior striker. He chained his combinations together more smoothly, used his jab to better effect, hit Covington to the body with uppercuts and front kicks, and did far more damage.

Covington remains an excellent fighter due to his all-round skills, but if he ever wants to be at the top of the mountain, his striking needs to improve from a technical standpoint.