Canada Sports News

• Colby Covington defeated Tyron Woodley in the headliner of the UFC 178.
• The referee in the ring stopped the fight due to Woodley’s rib injury.
• Covington outclassed Woodley in almost all aspects of the fight and called out Jorge Masvidal and Kamaru Usman.

Covington Settles the Score with Woodley

The feud between these two guys lasted for too long, and finally, it was settled this Saturday night. Colby Covington defeated Tyron Woodley with a TKO (doctor’s stoppage) with 1:19 into the fifth round, after Woodley yelled from pain due to his rib injury.

It was an ending of a match in which Covington dominated right from the start until the end.

“He was done,” Covington said. “I broke him. In the third round, I broke him. He quit. I put vicious ground and pound. He was done.”

The vicious beating he took in the fourth round definitely left a mark on Woodley. It that sequence alone, the number of total strikes he inflicted was 2, while on the other hand, Colby had 113. Covington was constantly on top of his rival during those five minutes, not allowing him to get up and sending all sorts of strikes to his body and head.

Once the round ended, Woodley got up, covered with blood, and visibly damaged.

In the moments when he suffered an injury, the Chosen One, which is his nickname, was going after a guillotine on his rival, but abruptly stopped and starting to scream. The referee Dan Miragliotta had to stop in and stop the contest.

For Colby, this is the first fight, and the first win following his only defeat in the previous nine bouts suffered against Kamaru Usman. That was the title match that he lost in fifth-round via TKO.

Masvidal and Usman Colby’s Next Targets

The former title-challenger didn’t wait for too long to reveal his intentions. Right after the match, he stated that Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal are the only two names on his list.

“He’s been talking all that talk reckless. He used to talk at the old gym, ‘I’m going to beat your ass, I’m going to do this, I’m going to do that.’ OK. Let’s see it. Come see me in the octagon then,” Covington stated about Masvidal, who was once his best friend.

He also had a brief heated exchange with the champion, Kamaru Usman. Still, that fight won’t happen anytime soon, because Gilbert Burns is the next in line to challenge the Nigerian Nightmare, which is what Dana White repeated last night.

As for Woodley, this was his third loss in a row and definite proof of his decline. It seems that he can’t fight at the previous level, and even White stated that the former champ should think about his retirement.

“I think he should start thinking about hanging it up,” White told reporters. “He’s had a great career. He’s made his money.… We all get old, man. This happens to the best of us. Woodley’s had a good career. He’s been a champion.”

The next big fight is Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa next weekend.