Kamaru Usman isn’t sure which version of Colby Covington will show up at UFC on ESPN 63.
Covington (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) returns from a one-year layoff against streaking welterweight Joaquin Buckley (20-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) in Saturday’s main event (ESPN2, ESPN+) at Amalie Arena.
Covington hasn’t competed since his title loss to Leon Edwards at UFC 296 in December 2023. With Buckley’s explosive starts and Covington’s layoff, Usman worries about the adjustments his former foe can make early.
“Buckley is hungry, he’s aggressive, he’s going to come after Covington early,” Usman said on his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast. “I worry about the inactivity of Covington because I said that before in his last fight, I said him going into a title fight with Leon Edwards, but such a long layoff, it’s going to take time to get into the fight to where he starts get going again. That’s the issue that I see here. He’s also had another long layoff since that fight.
“So, I think it’s going to be a little tough for him to get going. Buckley’s not the kind of guy that you’re just going to stand there and take a couple of shots and then eventually get going later. He has to be able to get a hold of Buckley, get Buckley into wrestling and grappling and up against the cage to really start to build up those lactic acids. Then you can really start to see if he gets to the later Rounds of 3, 4 and 5. Then you could really potentially see Colby wake up.”
Regardless, Usman sees Buckley as the right opponent for Covington to gauge his status as a top contender at 170 pounds.
“I like it, I think it’s a good fight for Covington to come back on,” Usman said. “If he’s still there at that level and if he still wants to continue to be at the top of the division, I think that this is a good fight for him.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 63.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Kamaru Usman shares biggest concern about Colby Covington’s return at UFC Tampa
