Heading into UFC 225, Colby Covington talked more than his fair share of trash. Saturday night was his opportunity to back it up, and to gain UFC gold around his waist.
With the UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley shelved for a year due to a shoulder injury, the UFC made the decision to brand Covington's fight with Rafael Dos Anjos an interim title fight. The bout was Covington's first opportunity at a UFC title, and RDA's chance to become a two division champion, as he formerly held the UFC Lightweight title.
Covington started with success closing the distance and gaining the takedown at the beginning of the first two rounds, but in the first, RDA would chew him up in the clinch. Rounds two and three saw Covington's overwhelming wrestling take center stage, wth Dos Anjos giving the trash talking contender a dose of his own medicine in round for to chants of "Colby Sucks!" Covington was able to regain control at the end of the fourth round, before returning to wrestling in the fifth.
In the end, Covington won on the scorecards, and the wrestler that Dan Lambert brought to Florida to develop into an MMA superstar fulfilled his goal.
You can see an excerpt from our UFC 225 live coverage below, and the full coverage at this link.
Round Five: The round begins with Covington swinging at Dos Anjos before getting him against the cage wall, Covington lands a combo as the fighters separate. Dos Anjos barely catches Covington with a knee strike before getting taken down, Dos Anjos gets up and separates from Covington. Dos Anjos then nails Covington with a kick to the midsection, Covington again gets Dos Anjos against the cage wall. The fighters separate and Covington nails Dos Anjos with a punching combination, Covington and Dos Anjos exchange some kicks. Dos Anjos rocks a swinging Covington with a counter left hook, Covington gets Dos Anjos against the cage wall while looking for a takedown. Dos Anjos drops for a kimura and both fighters scramble to their feet, the fighters have a wild striking exchange before Covington gets Dos Anjos against the cage wall. The fighters swing away at each other as the round ends.
Fightful scores the round 10-9 for Covington (Final Score: 47-46 for Covington)
Official Result: #4 Colby Covington def. #1 Rafael Dos Anjos by unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) to win the title
After the fight, Covington called out champion Tyron Woodley to unify the titles, and said he'd take his championship to the White House and put it on Donald Trump's desk.
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