- Chael Sonnen would’ve stopped the fight himself if the doctor let Colby Covington continue at UFC Tampa
- “The Bad Guy” insists that Covington’s cut was severe
Chael Sonnen opened up about almost throwing the towel after seeing how bad Colby Covington’s cut was at UFC Tampa.
Chael was about to stop the fight
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Sonnen, who cornered “Chaos” for his fight with Joaquin Buckley at UFC Tampa, lifted the lid on why the doctor had to stop the fight due to Covington’s cut above the eye. Moreover, “The Bad Guy” admitted that even if it wasn’t stopped by the doctor, he was about to throw the towel as he understood the cut could cause further harm to Covington.
“Colby looked so dog tough. Buckley did too. Colby was getting hit on his feet with everything you could do, 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,” Sonnen revealed.
“When the doctor came in for the third time, and I’m watching that blood, it’s not stopping,” Sonnen continued. “It’s going into the eye, and that’s the only thing you’re really looking for. When we as fight fans, we as ‘tough guys’, think the doctor should’ve stopped it, we’re talking about it doesn’t matter how bad the cut is from our perspective, as long as it’s not going in the eye. If it’s blinding the guy, it doesn’t matter if it’s a little or a lot, if it’s in his eye and he can no longer see out of that eye, it’s the same thing. It’s the exact same thing,” he pointed out.
“I stood up so I could see what the doctor was doing… I said, ‘Hand me that towel, I’m stopping this.’ I bring that to you because the referee was taking some criticism. Well let me be fair here, I saw what they saw,” he explained.
Chael Sonnen consoles Colby Covington in the locker room after his loss 💪❤️
🎥 @ColbyCovMMA #UFC #MMApic.twitter.com/ZuRN4kXf89
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) December 16, 2024
Colby believed he could beat Buckley in the later rounds
Covington commented on his tough loss and insisted he was already getting the hang of it when the doctor stopped the fight. The former welterweight title contender was very confident that he could’ve turned things around and beat Buckley in the later rounds.
As it stands, “Chaos” is looking forward to being at his best with a longer training camp in his next fight. He has now lost two fights in a row and the loss to Buckley saw him dropping down to No. 9 in the welterweight rankings.
Watch Sonnen’s full video below:
