One former fighter thinks Colby Covington's time as an elite UFC welterweight might have been up even before this past weekend's result.
Covington had his pursuit of a fourth shot at the undisputed 170-pound crown stalled emphatically by Joaquin Buckley in Saturday's UFC Fight Night main event at Tampa's Amalie Arena.
After a dominant opening two rounds for the rising "New Mansa," a cut sustained early on by "Chaos" proved too severe for him to continue, with the cageside doctor advising referee Dan Miragliotta to wave off the fight in the third frame.
The result has left Covington 2-4 across his last six, 0-4 opposite currently ranked welterweights, and down at #9 in the pecking order.
Given his struggles, many have suggested the 36-year-old has declined and is no longer able to compete with the best the division has to offer.
During the latest episode of MMA Fighting's The Fighter vs. The Writer, UFC veteran Matt Brown questioned whether that might have already been the case prior to the year-ending event in Florida.
It’s hard to argue he’s really been elite for a while," Brown said. "He hasn’t done anything elite for a long time. I’m not even sure if the door was already closed. I thought this was kind of his chance to show that he is still an elite welterweight, and he didn’t pass the test. I think that door might have already been closed is the only caveat to that. We’ll see.
I guess the question is whether he retires. It’s not even whether he’s an elite welterweight anymore. I think that answer’s pretty clear," Brown continued. "Is he going to stick around? Is he going to keep fighting? Because he’s kind of lived off of his shtick more so than his performances, right?
Covington was quick to reject any talk of retirement post-fight. On the contrary, he claimed this is "just the beginning."
With that, it would appear that "Chaos" will be making the walk again in 2025. But after a defeat to a rising name like Buckley, his chances of returning to championship fights have no doubt slimmed significantly.