Colby Covington: The Moment of Truth

Colby Covington: The Moment of Truth

MMA badly needs new stars to emerge, Conor McGregor was something different at the right time, and he has the sort of persona that got him over with the masses. But having the right persona is only part of the game, you have to back up the talk, McGregor certainly did that, and this weekend at UFC 225, Colby Covington gets his moment of truth, his opportunity to prove he is the real deal.

Covington has been accused of being a McGregor wannabe, trying to copy, at least in part, what McGregor did. Covington knows what he is doing, he is saying the right things to provoke a reaction, to get people talking. While it doesn’t come close to the sort of verbal’s McGregor can dish out, Covington is getting himself noticed, which is of course the name of the game.

What you don’t want is a roster full of clones, either from the bland variety or the heel type, to go mainstream or even fully resonate with the MMA hardcore you need to stand-out, be different, Covington is certainly that.

But you need to be able to fight, and so far Covington has done little wrong, just the one defeat in 14 pro fights. Currently riding a 5 fight win streak and steadily increasing the standard of competition, Covington is certainly on his way. But this weekend at UFC, Covington gets his true test.

Rafael Dos Anjos is the biggest challenge so far, and there is little doubt we will know post fight if Covington is the real deal or not. Dos Anjos has the sort of resume most fighters crave, once considered the greatest lightweight of all time, since moving up to welterweight, the Brazilian has looked a champion in waiting.

Dos Anjos has won 3 straight since suffering back to back losses at lightweight, and looks much stronger at welterweight, Covington will not need telling what lays ahead.

The 4th ranked Covington has already set his sights on Tyron Woodley if he wins the interim belt this Saturday, and has even planted the seed for a possible move to middleweight sometime in the future. Personally speaking a fight with Darren Till would be box office gold.

Covington has big plans, but those plans will end with a defeat on Saturday.

Many will tune in to see him win, many more to see him lose. The UFC or Covington will not care which, as long as they buy the PPV, which is of course the point of the ‘character’ but playing the heel will only take you so far, the fists will need to do their thing to take it to the next level.