Legendary boxing trainer Teddy Atlas doesn’t know if Colby Covington will be the same version of himself that he’s always been at UFC 296.
Covington hasn’t competed since March 2022 when he defeated Jorge Masvidal via unanimous decision. Later that same month, Masvidal allegedly attacked Covington outside of a restaurant in Miami Beach. Masvidal was arrested and released on $15,000 bond. Initially charged with aggravated battery, “Gamebred” avoided felony charges by accepting a plea deal.
Colby Covington insults Leon Edwards father… and fight nearly erupts! This press conference is insane #ufc296 #colbycovington #ufc pic.twitter.com/tRiUcVDaNd
— Nina-Marie Daniele (@ninamdrama) December 15, 2023
Teddy Atlas Wonders If Colby Covington Is the Same Fighter
During a recent edition of “THE FIGHT with Teddy Atlas,” the renowned boxing trainer shared his belief that Edwards has a safer style than Covington’s thanks to risk management.
“Covington makes more mistakes than Edwards does because he takes more risks than Edwards does,” Atlas said. “He’s aggressive, as I just said, kidding around before but obviously I was getting my point across that he has three things that he does. He comes forward, he comes forward, he comes forward. He’s got one speed, full speed, and when you have that one speed, obviously, you’re more prone to errors. I think that’s where Edwards has the edge.”
There is one major factor that Atlas believes might play a role in the UFC 296 main event title fight. He questions whether or not that incident with Masvidal has left Covington with long-term damage that could negatively impact his career.
“The one thing that I don’t know if anyone would touch on or think about is that Covington’s been gone from the ring a year and nine months,” Atlas said. “His last fight was a win against Masvidal, and something happened, obviously, during that one year and nine months after that win. There’s no other way to say it, but in the street he went up without Covington seeing him and he hit him with a sneak punch that really hurt Covington to the point that it was reported that he had brain damage, he had a brain injury.”
Here’s the full video of Teddy Atlas sharing his concern for Colby Covington ahead of UFC 296:
