“He was taking deep breaths” - UFC veteran gets brutally honest about Colby Covington’s downfall, attributes inadequate training situation as a factor

MMA veteran Josh Thomson analyzed Colby Covington's disappointing performance at UFC Tampa. Covington returned to competition after a year-long hiatus to face Joaquin Buckley in the main event. Despite being the more accomplished fighter, Covington had little to offer and lost by TKO due to a doctor's stoppage.

Historically, Covington began his professional MMA career at the famed American Top Team but had to leave the camp because of disputes with teammates. He has been training at MMA Masters since changing the camp.

In his fight analysis on YouTube, Thomson suggested that this change in training environments might have contributed to Covington losing his competitive edge. Thomson said:

"I don't know if it's age as much, I know he's older but let's be honest. Within two fights, he doesn't look like the same person. Since he's left the gym, since he left the American top team, he doesn't look like the same person. Halfway through the first round, he was taking deep breaths. I don't want to say he was winded. I'm simply saying he was having a hard time catching a second wind."

He added:

"Not having the talent that he needs to help him push his pace in training is what I feel like I'm seeing right now. I'm seeing a fighter, who is having a hard time setting a pace that he [needs to set] against world-class fighters because he doesn't have world-class fighters to train with anymore."

Check out Josh Thomson's comments below (5:50):

At UFC Tampa on Dec. 14, Buckley, who showcased explosive striking, opened several cuts around Covington's eyes that worsened as the fight progressed. The cage-side doctor ruled Covington unable to continue in the closing seconds of Round 3, prompting the referee to declare Buckley the winner by TKO.

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Josh Thomson reveals a potential factor that may have impacted Colby Covington's UFC Tampa performance

Colby Covington has been relatively inactive in recent years, averaging just one fight per year since 2020. In contrast, his opponent at UFC Tampa, Joaquin Buckley, has competed 15 times during the same period.

In the aforementioned video, Josh Thomson noted the outcome of the fight between Covington and Buckley could reflect the significant difference in their activity levels.

"It's a big difference when you're active. This was Joaquin Buckley's fourth fight this year... Colby Covington, at this point, has been fighting, like, basically, once a year. He hasn't been as active as he should've been... Basically one fight a year... And he's been fighting the best guys. But the difference between him and Joaquin Buckley - When you go out there and when you're not as active, you see what you saw tonight." [7:40]

The defeat against Joaquin Buckley marked the first consecutive loss of Covington's professional MMA career. He suffered a unanimous decision loss against former welterweight champion Leon Edwards in his last fight at UFC 296. Meanwhile, Buckley extended his win streak to six.