Daniel Cormier Critiques Waning UFC Veteran Amidst His Decline
Daniel Cormier Critiques Waning UFC Veteran Amidst His Decline
DC's YouTube channel doesn't hold back punches. If you want a less polished version of DC than the one you hear on UFC broadcasts or DC & The Bad Guy, give his videos a watch.
Cormier's latest video discusses Colby Covington, the aging UFC welterweight veteran who lost to Joaquin Buckley via third-round TKO at the UFC Tampa main event. Covington is notorious for his confrontational behavior, and now that his career is waning and his behavior remains execrable, people are questioning what's next for him when his gimmick is working against him rather than for him.
Cormier took things a step further by calling out Covington for his flip-flopping on UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Cormier revealed the evidence.
"This is Colby Covington when he first started," Cormier said in his video. "He was on the undercard of a Jon Jones fight. He spoke of Jon Jones as if they were college buddies. Colby—or at least it appears to be his feelings towards Jon Jones, as he's very vocal about it—he hated Jones. But when you listen to this clip, you can see what his true feelings were before the act. This was before Colby became the bully, the loudmouth, and the harsh critic."
Cormier then played a clip from a post-fight media session following one of Covington's wins early in his career.
"He was a really good friend in college," Covington said in the clip. "We shared a bunk bed for two years. So I was hoping he was going to be here. I thought we'd have a little reunion, like in college when we were winning wrestling matches together."
"Doesn't seem like the guy who continues to diss Jones, does it?" Cormier interjected. "This is Colby today," Cormier said, introducing the Covington clip from UFC Tampa fight week on December 12.
"Jon Jones is an absolute disgrace to this earth," Covington said. "He's a joke. I think Jon needs to stop ducking Tom Aspinall, just like he ducked Ngannou. He ducked Ngannou for years. Now he's ducking Aspinall. He doesn't want to fight the guys he knows he'll get his ass kicked by. I don't think there's anything special about Jon Jones. He's a coward. He's a cheater, and he's an abuser."
It's not rocket science to notice the dramatic change in tone from Covington when speaking about Jones. Cormier doesn't hammer Covington for being two-faced like Harvey Dent. Instead, Cormier focuses on Covington's failure to maintain the level of excellence required to keep critics at bay when he's made a career out of being a controversial and confrontational figure.
"Now you can see how he's changed, can't you?" Cormier asked. "From the kid who respected Jones at the beginning to the guy who hates Jones now. Guys, that's all fine and dandy—it really is. It's all fine and dandy until you start losing. Until you start losing, your act can be as big as anything you want in the world. Your vision of how you want to be perceived can be big; it can be brash. But ultimately, you gotta win, right?"
Losing is something Covington has done a lot of since 2019. The former UFC interim welterweight champion has a two-fight losing streak and has lost four of his last six fights. He'll turn 37 in February, and the high-wrestling, super-cardio approach that served him well early in his career is no longer as effective.
"He took shots at the top, like Usman, Edwards, Jones, even in a different weight class," Cormier said. "But now those guys are still at the top, and his time is starting to pass him by. What do you think happens then? I don't know, man. I think this is really interesting because I genuinely love wrestling, and I love having a larger-than-life personality. You know what they tell me at The Volume? When we did this deal, they said, 'We want Daniel Cormier. We want you to turn your volume up a little bit.' Colby turned the volume all the way up. But by doing that, while you attract more attention in a positive way, you also build up a lot of enemies who wait for the downfall. And right now, it seems like we're right in the middle of a downfall. How does Covington handle that?"
The same way he's always handled things: with confrontation. He may not have any other choice.
- After analyzing UFC news, Daniel Cormier discussed the UFC Tampa results, particularly Colby Covington's loss to Joaquin Buckley.
- In the UFC Tampa results, Cormier pointed out Colby Covington's inconsistency towards UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, highlighting his past comments praising Jones.
- The UFC Tampa results sparked a conversation about Colby Covington's next fight, with Cormier questioning his future in the UFC given his recent losses.
- Regardless of the UFC Tampa results and the controversies surrounding him, Colby Covington has always responded to criticism with more confrontation, reflecting his approach since his UFC debut.