Retired UFC ref and Bellator commentator “Big John” McCarthy literally wrote the book on MMA. He’s seen more fighters come and go over the years than just about anybody. Speaking to the Weighing In podcast recently, McCarthy took aim at both Colby Covington and ESPN, albeit for very different reasons.
Firstly, he echoed the sentiments of other commentators in pointing out that fights like Masvidal vs Covington, which headlined UFC 272 over the weekend, are often disappointing. The fighters know each other too well, or are too cautious because of it.
Big John McCarthy Slams Colby Covington: “He’s Never Going to be an Exciting Fighter”
“Heated rivalries, they just don’t turn out to be the great fights that you want them to be. This wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great. Colby, being Colby, uses his wrestling and Masvidal gets tired. He got tired.” Next, ESPN’s pay-per-view service earned his ire.
“I didn’t get to see the majority of the second round. Thank you very much ESPN and your pay-per-view service. But you took about 3 minutes of my pay-per-view and s*it on it, cause you took it off my screen. So I heard Masvidal had a decent round there, it was close.”
Finally, “Big John” pointed out what many fight fans know deep down: Colby Covington’s fighting style is not particularly interesting. There’s a metagame to prizefighting that requires relentless self-promotion outside the Octagon. Covington, for better or worse, has made much of his love for Donald Trump to build a profile and a following.
Inside the Octagon, his lack of finishing power combined with a singular fight strategy – high-pressure wrestling – makes him a less interesting fighter than one might want from the #1 welterweight contender.
“Colby Covington is never going to be an exciting fighter. I’m sorry, he’s just not exciting. He’s good. I will not take anything away from him.
But he doesn’t have a ton of punching power, he throws punches at times, and you look and you go that was not good. He’s got that pressure, the pressure. He’s got the chin, he’ll take the shot, he takes shots and responds. Masvidal gave it everything he had. Colby was never close to finishing him.
You wanted more based on the rivalry and the supposed hatred between the two. And in the end I’m not sure it produced what we wanted.”
Do you think Colby is an exciting fighter, or is Big John right about the welterweight contender? Let us know in the comments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xX2L2Lo79Og
