Colby Covington dubbed "Chael Sonnen 2.0" by Khabib Nurmagomedov's coach while sharing honest take on 'Chaos' championship potential

Colby Covington is a former interim UFC welterweight champion. Unfortunately, he has struggled to capture an undisputed title, prompting AKA head coach Javier Mendez, who famously coached Khabib Nurmagomedov, to compare 'Chaos' to retired UFC trash-talking sensation Chael Sonnen.

On a recent episode of his podcast, Mendez broke down Covington as a fighter, seeing parallels between him and Sonnen. While Covington has been slightly more successful, tasting interim gold at one point, his career trajectory has been similar to Sonnen's when the latter was still a UFC fighter.

"Colby is, I mean I hate to say it, but I like listening to him whether he wins, whether he loses. If he loses there's an excuse, 'Oh, I really won that fight.' And he's entertaining, he's like a Chael Sonnen 2.0 to me. Chael knows how to make attention, so does Colby."

In terms of their fighting ability, Mendez sees little to separate Covington from Sonnen.

"As far as fighting I think they're both in that same league, that they're both great fighters, but they just couldn't quite get over the hump. That's what I look at both of them. Great entertainers, great fighters, but just not champion-champion fighters."

Check out Javier Mendez comparing Colby Covington to Chael Sonnen (13:46):

The similarities between Covington and Sonnen are particularly strong. Both men are renowned for being two of the most relentless trash-talkers MMA has ever seen. They're also NCAA Division I Wrestling standouts distinguished by their cardio, high output, elite wrestling, and lack of punching power.

Career-wise, they are also similar, having each failed in their three undisputed title fights against all-time greats in their respective divisions. The only thing that separates Covington from Sonnen is that he did manage to, at least, capture an interim title.

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Chael Sonnen cornered Colby Covington against Joaquin Buckley

After a one-year absence, Colby Covington made his octagon return against Joaquin Buckley at UFC on ESPN 63. 'Chaos' brought Chael Sonnen with him as a cornerman. Unfortunately for him, it produced little benefit, as he was dominated and TKO'd by Buckley due to a cut-related doctor stoppage in round three.

After the defeat, Covington is on a two-fight losing streak, the first of his career. Nevertheless, Sonnen consoled his deflated pupil, describing the fight as more competitive than perhaps it actually was.