The final UFC fight of 2024, fought between Colby Covington and Joaquin Buckley, was waved off after ‘Chaos’ suffered a nasty cut above his right eye.
The injury left ‘massive pools of thick blood’ in the octagon, with MMA legend and coach Chael Sonnen later admitting that he was just about to throw the towel in – two weeks later, Chaos has finally addressed the situation.
Colby Covington addresses Chael Sonnen throwing in the towel at UFC Tampa
In a video posted to his YouTube channel after UFC Tampa, Chael Sonnen revealed that he was just about ready to throw the towel in; only for the referee to wave off the fight on the advice of the ringside physician.
“He’s busted open so bad that the doctor has to look at it three times… Twice, he stops the action to let it keep going, the third time he goes ‘Man we can’t keep going anymore’. I was going to stop that fight; I already grabbed the towel.
“When the doctor came in for the third time, and I’m watching that blood, it’s not stopping,” shared Sonnen, admitting that he turned to his teammates and said: “‘Hand me that towel, I’m stopping this’.”
Those comments have been met with a positive reception from the MMA community; the argument being that UFC coaches should be willing to throw in the towel far more often to keep their pupil’s from sustaining unnecessary or life-altering damage.
Now, Colby Covington himself has addressed that decision, with ‘Chaos’ explaining how he holds no animosity towards his long-term mentor over what he believes to have been a correct, if not frustrating, white-flag admission.
“I mean, my opinion is that Chael cares about me, he’s a real one. If he was throwing it in, it’s because he knows that I couldn’t see, he knows that where the cut was at, it was bleeding into my right eye, and I couldn’t see – I was seeing three of four different people.
“So, that’s what it is; that guy [Buckley] couldn’t do nothing to me, not even seeing anything, or seeing blurry [and] coming off the couch. Look at how far my back was against the wall, but I did it for the company.”
Covington was keen to drive home the fact that Sonnen was simply concerned over any long-lasting injuries that the cut may have caused, had the fight been allowed to continue.
“But he knew that I couldn’t see, so if he’s going to do it, it’s because he cares about me and he knows that I couldn’t see and that was going to be tough to overcome.
“I thought I was coming on stronger, and I feel like they were going to have to throw in the towel for Buckley by the end of round five – so it sucks, it’s unfortunate.”
Chael Sonnen accused of ‘gaslighting’ Covington over performance
Whilst Sonnen has been widely praised for his towel admission, former double champion Henry Cejudo took issue with The Bad Guy’s post-fight breakdown in the UFC Tampa locker room.
In Covington’s own event VLOG, Sonnen can be heard telling the former interim champion that “everything was going great, [and] the tide was turning,” but also that “you’re probably looking at the [FOTN] bonus on that.”
Cejudo, during his 2024 final awards video, would claim that Sonnen was “over here gaslighting Colby Covington, thinking that Colby Covington won Fight of the Night [bonus].
“Dude, Uncle Chael can f***** sell ice to an eskimo, Jesus Christ! I mean, were the tides turning? No. Did he deserve the bonus? No. That lets you know, man, Uncle Chael could sell ice to a damn eskimo.
“I don’t know what to believe with Chael but I love him because he’s going to make you feel good regardless – is he ‘The Bad Guy’ or is he the good guy?”