A look at the welterweight picture ahead of Dos Anjos vs Covington

A look at the welterweight picture ahead of Dos Anjos vs Covington

By Jon Prentice

UFC 225 goes down this weekend from Chicago, Illinois with a huge rematch for the middleweight title between Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero set to headline. The evenings co-main event will see an interim champion crowned at welterweight when Rafael Dos Anjos and Colby Covington do battle.

With some intriguing and exciting potential upcoming match ups in the welterweight division, now seems like the perfect time to take a closer look into the title picture and who could be challenging for the belt in the coming months.

First off I have to say that I agree with many MMA fans comments that I have read questioning the UFC’s decision to schedule an interim belt with current champion Tyron Woodley (18-3-1) expected to return to action following shoulder surgery within the next month or two. However, the decision has been made and we will look at the title picture accordingly.

Prior to the injury Woodley was on a run of three title defences (one being a draw with Stephen Thompson) having blitzed his way through Robbie Lawler back at UFC 201 in July of 2017, defeating the then champion via TKO in the first round to take the belt.

A chess battle played out with Stephen Thompson in Woodley’s first title defence leading to a draw on the scorecards and an immediate rematch between the two. The underwhelming narrow victory for Woodley in the second outing between him and Thompson was overshadowed by an even more tentative victory over MMA legend and jiu jitsu ace Demian Maia in Woodley’s latest octagon appearance back in July 2017 at UFC 214. Having not yet gained the full backing of the MMA fans as champion, Woodley will need to win his next outing in impressive fashion if he wants to get them back on side.

So who are the major players at welterweight that will be eager to get their shot at Woodley and the chance to reign atop of the division?

Rafael Dos Anjos (18-9)/Colby Covington (13-1):

All being well, one of the aforementioned will become the new interim champion come Saturday night. Dos Anjos, the former lightweight champion, has looked like a rejuvenated man at welterweight with fantastic showings in wins over Tarec Saffedine, Neil Magny and Robbie Lawler since making the jump up in weight. Dos Anjos has extremely good wrestling and a relentless gas tank that could definitely trouble Woodley if the two were to meet.

The ever brash and outspoken Colby Covington has, in his own words, “promised to make welterweight great again” and love him or hate him he certainly gets people talking about him and the division. Coming into the RDA bout off the back of 5 straight wins, Covington is confident he can knock out Dos Anjos this weekend then dethrone Woodley next. His latest victory came in the controversial clash with Demian Maia in which Covington got the decision win and in the process managed to anger the entire Brazilian population with his trash talking during fight week. However, that was his only win of note against a top ranked opponent leading up to the call up for the shot at the interim belt so it will be interesting to see how he fares in another step up in competition against the veteran Dos Anjos this weekend.

Darren Till (17-0-1):

A fan favourite fresh off the back of a win in his hometown of Liverpool over Stephen Thompson, you would imagine Till is a certainty for a shot at the title once the Woodley vs interim champion bout has taken place. The victory over Thompson was Till’s 4th in succession and catapulted Till up to 2nd in the welterweight rankings. Undefeated throughout his career, the 1st round TKO win over Donald Cerrone at UFC Fight Night 118 put Till’s name on the map and the decision win over Thompson cemented his status as a contender. A fearsome striker with great takedown defence, Till is huge for the weight class and although advantageous come fight night, following his failure to make-weight for the Thompson bout there will be question marks over whether he will be able to regularly make championship weight. Another charismatic man on the mic, you would be hard pressed to find many MMA fans that wouldn’t want to see the entertaining Till on top of the division.

Kamaru Usman (13-1):

Usman is a fantastic wrestler fighting out of American Top Team currently riding a 10 fight win streak. Winner of The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs Blackzilians, “The Nigerian Nightmare” most recently defeated Demian Maia in the main event of the UFC’s debut trip to Chile a little over 2 weeks ago. As with Covington, the win over Maia is Usman’s only notable win over a ranked opponent, therefore he is probably a win or two away from a shot at the belt at present. Despite the hugely impressive win streak, fans haven’t warmed to his wrestle heavy style and controversial social media comments, however there is no doubting he is one of the most dangerous competitors in the division who could out wrestle most of the top 10.

As things stand the above mentioned are currently vying for their shot at the belt, however as we all know one or two wins can change everything. The talent rich welterweight division still has the likes of Robbie Lawler, Stephen Thompson, Demian Maia, Santiago Ponzinibbio, Neil Magny, Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards amongst others who are waiting in the wings to swoop in and stake their claim as future contenders.

One thing is for sure and that is we have a very interesting few months ahead of us where the welterweight division is concerned!