Henry Cejudo: Colby Covington will beat UFC champ Leon Edwards, grind him out for five rounds

Farah Hannoun
·2 min read

Henry Cejudo thinks Colby Covington is a bad stylistic matchup for UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards.

Covington (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC), who weighed in as a backup for Edwards’ title defense against Kamaru Usman at UFC 286, was named the No. 1 contender by UFC president Dana White. But Edwards said Covington doesn’t deserve the fight, and he prefers settling his beef with Jorge Masvidal if he emerges victorious against Gilbert Burns at UFC 287.

With Covington’s relentless pace and grappling, Cejudo thinks it’s best for Edwards (21-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) to avoid the fight.

“When I say it’s an easy fight for Colby, stylistically you’re a good fight for him because your wrestling is still a little suspect,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel. “With Colby Covington, he’s gonna be coming at you from Round 1 to Round 5, where Kamaru Usman wanted to display more of his actual fighting. You have time to get better in these positions, but the question is will your ego allow you to? Because nobody likes to wrestle. It’s too tiring.”

Related

Leon Edwards says Colby Covington next doesn't make sense: 'I don't get how he just slides in for the title shot'

Dana White confirms Colby Covington next for UFC title shot vs. Leon Edwards: 'He deserves the fight'

Colby Covington wants champ Leon Edwards at International Fight Week: 'It's time to come see the man'

Although Edwards was able to fend off Usman’s grappling for the most part in his majority decision win in Saturday’s headliner at The O2 in London, Cejudo sees Covington overwhelming him.

“Prediction is Colby beats him,” Cejudo said. “Colby maybe doesn’t stop him, but he grinds him out for five rounds. Might be four rounds to one or 3-2, but I think where Colby strives the best and where Leon didn’t – maybe he did this time with Kamaru, but in the past, I can see Colby Covington being the toughest matchup for him. He’s better off fighting a guy like Khamzat Chimaev, fighting a guy that doesn’t have five-round experience but yet still has that wrestling.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 286.

Story originally appeared on MMA Junkie

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Road rage dispute ends with man shooting trucker as he ran along interstate, cops say

    The driver shot the trucker, then drove away, officials say.

  • Dead embryos implanted into aspiring moms hoping to start families, California suits say

    “Our hearts are broken.”

  • Arrested football agent 'wanted to watch Queen's funeral'

    Saif Alrubie felt he was owed a percentage of Kurt Zouma's transfer fee to West Ham, a court hears.

  • MAG Silver Corp. (TSE:MAG) is favoured by institutional owners who hold 60% of the company

    Key Insights Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, MAG Silver's stock price might be vulnerable to their...

  • Johnson County pizza place closes after 5 years. It wants to reopen somewhere else

    “Unfortunately, our lease is up and we haven’t found a new home yet.”

  • Italy bans loans to Minneapolis Institute of Art because of long-running dispute over ancient statue

    Italy’s Culture Ministry banned art loans to the Minneapolis Institute of Art, following a long-running dispute with the U.S. museum over an ancient marble statue believed to have been looted from Italy almost a half-century ago. The legal dispute began in March 2022, when an Italian court ruled that the museum, known as Mia, was irregularly in possession of the Stabiae Doriforo, a Roman-era copy of The Doryphoros of Polykleitos, an ancient Greek sculpture.

  • Police identify man shot, killed at Roselawn apartment complex

    The shooting happened at approximately 3 a.m. in the 1600 block of Summit Road Wednesday.

  • Accordionist Fergie MacDonald dies aged 86

    MacDonald was awarded an MBE in 2021 for his services to traditional music.

  • Teachers love these 'incredibly comfortable' Skechers slip-ons — get them while they're up to 40% off

    These classics come in over 20 colors, and you can even toss 'em in the washing machine.

  • Petition objects to municipality acquiring EV buses

    The Municipality of Jasper’s potential procurement of EV buses is facing a rising hurdle in the form of an online petition. The petition, started by 33-year resident Debbie Taylor, surpassed 550 electronic signatures as of Monday. “I am supportive of the development of the Jasper Transit service and the benefits that it offers our community, however, as a resident… I am deeply concerned about the current proposed rate of municipal spending on Electric Vehicle (EV) buses and the infrastructure re

  • Guard kills Georgia inmate at hospital after he overpowered other officer, investigators say

    A Georgia prison guard shot and killed a prisoner she had helped escort to a hospital for treatment after he snatched another guard's pepper spray and used it to overpower him, authorities said Wednesday. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said its agents are investigating the late Tuesday shooting at Washington County Regional Hospital in Sandersville, about 60 miles (96 kilometers) east of Macon. Two corrections officers from Washington State Prison took 31-year-old Jacob Henson to the hospital after he was stabbed by a fellow prisoner during a fight, the GBI said in a news release.

  • TikTok may be banned in the US

    TikTok may be banned in the US

  • Are we seeing the best version of Mike Trout ever? | Baseball Bar-B-Cast

    Yahoo Sports senior MLB analyst Jordan Shusterman breaks down the recent success Mike Trout has delivered so far in the 2024 MLB season for the Los Angeles Angels. Hear the full conversation on the “Baseball Bar-B-Cast” podcast - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.

  • Governor says newly-signed laws aimed at human trafficking are ‘important steps’ for GA

    Kemp signed three bills Wednesday pertaining to human trafficking issues.

  • Searching for missing loved ones in Gaza’s mass graves

    In this war, it is a huge challenge to find out how people whose bodies were exhumed at Nasser hospital died.

  • 'Cool!': Golfers Awed as Alligator Saunters Across Fairway in Florida

    A Florida resident recently captured video of an alligator sauntering around a Florida golf course like it owned the place, as golfers watched in awe.Mark Mendelsohn filmed this video of a gator “crossing the first fairway” of a golf course in The Villages, “going from one pond to another” on March 9.“That’s pretty f***ing cool,” someone can be heard saying in the video, as Mendelsohn and his golf partner drive past the gator. Credit: Mark Mendelsohn via Storyful

  • Megan Thee Stallion: Cameraman accuses rapper of 'hostile' workplace

    The Savage rapper denies "salacious" claims she had sex beside an "embarrassed" cameraman in Ibiza.

  • Biden signs TikTok ban bill: Why this matters for businesses

    President Biden has officially signed the bill giving TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, nine months to divest from the company or else the app will be banned from the US. While the fallout has yet to be seen, there is a potential for this legislation to affect businesses as many companies and entrepreneurs have used the popular social video app to market their products and services. Front Row CEO Yuriy Boykiv joins Wealth! to break down the impacts a TikTok ban will have on businesses, both large and small, and their ability to market themselves and grow through user exposure. "There are a lot of alternatives. At the moment, TikTok is a dominant player for attention, predominantly for Generation Z and Alpha. If you think about the monthly user base, it's about on average a million users per month. 100,000 of those are influencers so 1 out of 10 users are influencers and those influencers are driving a lot of demand for the products that are eventually sold somewhere..." Boykiv explains. "The idea that TikTok will be banned fully has not really registered yet, in my opinion, in marketers' mind. But even if it happens, because Instagram and Facebook, which is Meta (META) essentially, adapted to the vertical format of video, the idea is a lot of those same users and influencers will move to Facebook and Instagram." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Wealth! This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino

  • What’s behind Russia’s sudden advance in the East - Ukraine: The Latest podcast

    Today, we bring you news from the battlefront, analyse developments in Donetsk as Russia pushes Ukraine back near Avdiivka and we discuss the latest diplomatic and political updates from around the world.

  • U.S. to name former UN official as new Gaza aid envoy, say sources

    U.S. Gaza aid envoy David Satterfield is set to step down shortly and will be replaced by former senior United Nations official Lise Grande, two sources familiar with the issue told Reuters on Wednesday. Satterfield was appointed six months ago as the U.S. special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues with a specific focus on leading the U.S. response to the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. Grande is currently head of the independent U.S. Institute of Peace.