Cory Sandhagen was very entertained by Leon Edwards’ performance against Colby Covington at UFC 296.
‘Rocky’ closed out the promotion’s 2023 pay-per-view scheduled with a dominant performance against Covington to retain the welterweight world championship. Following the contest, fans and fighters alike were quick to praise Edwards’ game plan that effectively shut down the impeccable wrestling skills of Colby Covington and rendered his challenger’s never-ending gas tank moot.
LEON EDWARDS BEAT COLBY COVINGTON BY UNANIMOUS DECISION 😤
(via @ufc)
pic.twitter.com/NQqgWUQCVV— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 17, 2023
Looking back on the five-round scrap, Sandhagen offered fight fans a breakdown of Edwards’ performance courtesy of a video on his YouTube channel.
“Leon was definitely playing the counter game,” ‘The Sandman’ said. “He wasn’t being overextended on anything that he was doing. Colby’s chance at winning was to take him down. If he doesn’t take him down, he doesn’t win. He put a lot of eggs in that basket which is why I think the fight was a little bit slower but really smart.”
Cory Sandhagen Believes ‘Rocky’ Could Have Opened Up More Against Covington
Cory Sandhagen specifically spotlighted Leon Edwards‘ well-timed counter left, his impressive leg kicks that busted up Covington’s lead leg from the get-go, and the champ’s ability to grapple with the former All-American.
Sandhagen does believe that ‘Rocky’ could have opened up a bit more and potentially finished Covington at any point throughout the contest, but ‘The Sandman’ was nevertheless impressed with Edwards’ dominant showing that led to a 49-46 score from all three judges.
“Hat’s off to Leon because he’s obviously a super phenomenal fighter more on the vintage style of fighting, but that can be beautiful in its own right, too,” Sandhagen said.
He added, “I thought that Leon could have opened up a lot more and hurt Colby, which we were all hoping was going to happen, but overall just a really good fight.”
‘Rocky’ extended his undefeated streak to 12-0 dating back to 2016. On the flip side, Colby Covington has dropped to 2-3 in his last five bouts with all three of the losses coming in UFC title fights.
Watch Cory Sandhagen’s full breakdown below:
