‘He Chain Wrestles’- Colby Covington’s True Chances Against Leon Edwards at UFC 296 Gets Exposed by MMA Veteran

Colby Covington will take on Leon Edwards at UFC 296 for the welterweight title this Sunday. And as the clock ticks towards their momentous title clash, the MMA world is chiming in with their predictions. Among them are legendary MMA referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy, and former UFC fighter Josh Thomson.

The duo made their predictions for the UFC 296 headliner on December 16 on their ‘Weighing In’ podcast on YouTube. Thomson picked Edwards as he felt he had faced and defeated stellar opponents recently and had been active, while Covington had been away from the octagon for quite some time. ‘Big John’, however, had a more nuanced take. Let’s look at what he has to say.

John McCarthy’s prediction for Edwards vs. Covington

John McCarthy started by acknowledging that Covington had the skills to win the bout off of his world-class wrestling abilities. The former referee felt if Covington stuck to his relentless, chain-wrestling technique, he could defeat Leon Edwards at UFC 296 tomorrow.

“Okay, he [Colby Covington] does have the skill to win the fight because his wrestling is absolutely top-notch… He goes after it, he chain wrestles together. He doesn’t stop, he doesn’t quit on it. If he misses the first one, he’s going to go for the second… when he misses the second… he’s going to go for the third and the fourth and the fifth and just goes on and on and on. So that’s his way of winning…in my opinion,” McCarthy said.

However, the 61-year-old felt that Edwards, being the younger fighter, would win their title bout. McCarthy pointed to the stats and claimed that for welterweight and lower weight classes, eighty percent of the fights were won by the younger fighter.

“Here’s the problem, [Edwards is] 32 years of age compared to Colby’s now 35. You look at the 170 lbs and down [weight-class] about 80% of the time the younger fighter wins. Who’s the younger fighter here? Yeah, it’s Leon,” he added. Interestingly, McCarthy and Thomson’s take mirrors Edwards’ analysis of his upcoming second title defense.

Leon Edwards thinks ‘Chaos’ is being overestimated

In a recent interview with the ‘Ril and Wills’ (YouTube channel), Leon Edwards was asked his thoughts on the Covington fight. ‘Rocky’ felt that the 35-year-old’s chances were being overestimated. He pointed out that the Miami resident’s last few fights had been against older fighters at the end of their ropes.

Read More: Leon Edwards Should Not Go for UFC MW Title Just Yet After Colby Covington Fight at UFC 296

Edwards was confident that he would present a different challenge for Covington as he was in his athletic prime. And after their contentious press conference at the ceremonial weigh-ins, the welterweight champion has predicted that he will make ‘Chaos’ pay in the octagon for his disrespectful trash talk. Who do you think will walk out the welterweight champion at UFC 296?

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