Former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington took a beating on Saturday night in the main event of UFC Tampa, and current 170-pound titleholder Belal Muhammad loved every minute of it.
An Octagon doctor stopped Covington's fight with Joaquin Buckley in the third round because of a massive gash on the former's right eyelid. The blood was flowing into Covington's eye, and Buckley was landing hard shots throughout the fight. In summary, the doctor made the right decision.
In fact, Chael Sonnen, who was cornering Covington, said he was going to throw in the towel if the doctor hadn't beaten him to the punch.
Muhammad is one of the many fighters who have beef with Covington. The current champion spoke to MMA Junkie on SiriusXM about the fight.
"It felt so good just to watch him bleed and suffer," Muhammad told MMA on SiriusXM. "I was just hoping that the doctor would let it go a little bit more because now you open the door for Colby to make excuses. He's already coming out with excuses. Bro, you're literally getting pieced up in every way you can get pieced up. You were losing the grappling, you were losing the striking, you were losing the kickboxing, you even lost the walkout because you ripped your shirt before you even got out there, so you looked stupid doing that."
Covington was walked to the Octagon by WWE legend Hulk Hogan, with the wrestling icon's entrance theme, Real American, blaring through the speakers at Amalie Arena. Hogan always ripped his t-shirt off before matches.
Covington wanted to emulate Hogan's signature pre-match routine, so he had his t-shirt partially ripped at the top and bottom to ensure the disrobing went over without a hitch. However, the cuts were super obvious, and rather than looking cool, Covington looked more like he'd survived a mugging.
Unfortunately for him, that happened moments later when the fight with Buckley began. Muhammad echoed some of the sentiments from others in the MMA community who believe Covington has seen his best days in the Octagon pass him by and that he's more persona than potency.
"Once people realize he's not what people thought he was - they put him on this pedestal of, 'Oh, man, he's the cardio king,'" Muhammad continued. "He's this, he's that. These new guys now, where we're studying, we're seeing stuff. He's not throwing anything at you to make you worry. He can throw his pity-patty freaking punches, and then he takes his stupid shot and pushes to the fence and tries to take you down. But there are better athletes now, there are better guys, smarter guys now that are seeing all this stuff."
There was a time when an up-and-comer like Buckley would have been overwhelmed by Covington's wrestling and pace. Neither quality gave Buckley much of an issue, as he neutralized seven of Covington's eight takedown attempts.
Even when Covington was able to enjoy some top control in the fight, Buckley got to his feet without taking any damage.
"I think now that one person realizes, wait, this kid really does suck, he doesn't belong in the top five in the UFC," Muhammad said. "I don't think he'll beat anybody in the top 10 in the UFC. Now he's realized the game has passed him by, and he needs to figure out what's next. Maybe he'll have one big fight against somebody, maybe, but there's not a lot left for him."
We'll see how long it takes before Covington climbs back into the Octagon or if he elects to quietly call it a career. He'll be 37 in February, and the welterweight division is packed with hungry lions clawing their way to the top of the weight class.
We'd be lying to ourselves if we didn't admit the future doesn't look bright for Covington.