Chael Sonnen made some surprising statements after cornering Colby Covington at UFC Tampa.
Colby Covington's bid for a potential fourth UFC welterweight title fell far short of the target at UFC Tampa. After a bloody defeat of Joaquin Buckley in the first two rounds, the Octagonside doctor inspected Covington's nasty cut over his right eye in Round 3 and deemed him unfit to continue.
Buckley remains undefeated at welterweight, while Covington suffered his second consecutive loss in his return. Before UFC Tampa, Covington fell to Leon Edwards for the UFC welterweight title at UFC 296.
Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC
After the doctor ended the stoppage of UFC Tampa, UFC CEO Dana White questioned the stoppage, claiming the ruling would not have been made if the fight had taken place in Las Vegas. As the Octagonside doctor and referee shared dialogue while examining Covington's head wound, the doctor claimed the welterweight star was about to lose his eyelid.
Sonnen, who made a surprise appearance in Covington's corner for UFC Tampa, had a different take on the controversial ending to the main event that may surprise fight fans.
Chael Sonnen was about to 'throw in the towel' before doctor stopped Colby Covington from moving forward
In a post-fight upload to his YouTube channel, Sonnen said he was about to intervene and stop the fight on Covington's behalf before the doctor's ruling.
“Colby got hit on his feet with everything you could do, he broke up so bad the doctor had to look at it three times,” Sonnen said of Covington. “Twice he stops the action to let it continue, the third time he says 'Man, we can't continue anymore.' I wanted to stop that fight, I already grabbed the towel.
“The third time the doctor came in and I looked at that blood, it didn't stop,” Sonnen continued. “It goes into the eye, and that's all you're really looking for. When we as fight fans, as “tough guys,” think the doctor should have stopped it, we are talking about the fact that from our perspective it doesn't matter how bad the cut is as long as it doesn't go into the eyes. If it blinds the man, it doesn't matter if it's a little or a lot… it's exactly the same. I said, 'Give me the towel, I'll stop doing this'.”
Sonnen's admission is particularly surprising when you consider the debate surrounding the strike. Had Sonnen thrown in the towel and stopped Covington from continuing, he likely would have been at the center of controversy discussing the ending of the main event.
Chael Sonnen Makes Surprising Defense of Colby Covington vs. Joaquin Buckley interruption
Sonnen and Covington are old friends, stemming from their common roots in Oregon. While the extent of Sonnen's role during Covington's training camp is uncertain, he was the primary voice in the corner for UFC Tampa.
After dropping the fight against Buckley, Covington is now 2-4 over his last six fights, including two losses in the title fight against Kamaru Usman. He is 0-3 in straight-line UFC title fights after falling to Edwards last December.
Covington's last win came against former teammate and friend Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272. After high levels of activity earlier in his career, his activity has declined in recent years, averaging just one appearance per year since 2019.
Covington's UFC future is bleak after the loss to Buckley, as are his UFC title aspirations after another setback. In either case, Sonnen is a prominent presence in Covington's inner circle.
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