Tonight’s clash with Joaquin Buckley is an incredibly important bout for Colby Covington, who knows that a dominant victory could see him re-enter the welterweight title picture in 2025.
In an attempt to leave no stone unturned, the former interim champion has enlisted the help of friend and mentor Chael Sonnen – who was keen to tease that they’ve got some surprises in store for ‘New Mansa’.
Chael Sonnen and Colby Covington offer ‘inside scoop’ ahead of UFC Tampa
Returning from a 12-month layoff, Colby Covington not only has a new gym to call home, but he also has a new head coach in the form of UFC legend, Chael Sonnen.
“I’ve been wanting to be with Colby from the beginning,” acknowledged The Bad Guy via ESPN MMA: “When he finally called to say, ‘I’ve got a spot for you’, I thought ‘It’s about time’.”
Whilst Covington might be the moderate underdog to Joaquin Buckley, the threat of the takedown could offer up an opportunity to land a shock knockout for the former interim champ.
“I love that you use that word [threat] as we’ve talked about that in camp, about the threat of the wrestling,” stated Sonnen, before providing an ‘inside scoop’ into one of the camp’s key themes.
“A large part of the camp had to do with the hands and Buckley is one of these guys where he will give you openings – he’s got to be crowding you, and he doesn’t do as great of a job backing up.
“We feel that he exposes himself [on the feet] so there’s a couple of things that we’re looking for but in fairness, we’re looking for some tricks on the feet more than on the ground – there’s a little inside scoop for you.”
Covington was also keen to celebrate the vast experience that Sonnen brings his new-look team, before teasing that they’ve got a gameplan that could “surprise” one or two MMA fans.
“We have a whole new team around me, and it centers around this guy right here, he’s the head coach, he’s the boss man and whatever he says goes… We’re not forgetting where we came from, our roots are Oregon wrestling.
“We’re going to surprise people; people sleep on the striking, but with that element of being able to set up fake takedowns and come up with big strikes – I know that we can put this guy’s lights out… Tune in tomorrow night, because we’ve got something special in store.”
Watch Chael Sonnen cut a promo for ‘Chaos’
Chael Sonnen is not only one of the best wrestlers in UFC history, but he’s also one of the sport’s most prolific hype-men and trash talkers.
After Covington and Buckley squared off at the ceremonial weigh-ins, Sonnen would cut another superb promo for his student.
UFC Fight Night: Covington vs Buckley goes down live from Tampa, Florida, on December 14.