‘King of Sh*t No More’ – Colby Covington Gets Trashed After Submission Loss

A humbling defeat to a much smaller opponent has given his longtime critics plenty of ammunition. After Raul Rosas Jr. submitted the former UFC Interim Welterweight Champion in less than a minute, Henry Cejudo and Kamaru Usman had plenty to say about the performance.

Henry Cejudo and Kamaru Usman Rip Into Colby Covington After Raul Rosas Jr. Loss

The timing makes the setback hard to ignore. "Chaos" is preparing for a wrestling showdown against former UFC MIddleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev at RAF Abu Dhabi, and his latest outing has raised fresh questions about how he will fare against another elite opponent.

Case in point: Covington's submission-only grappling match against Rosas Jr., which ended in just 43 seconds. The UFC bantamweight prospect secured a rear-naked choke, forcing the 38-year-old to tap despite the considerable difference in their usual weight classes.

The result was difficult to overlook, particularly for someone who built much of his reputation around relentless wrestling pressure. Speaking on the Pound 4 Pound podcast alongside Usman, the former two-division UFC champion questioned how Covington could expect to face Chimaev so soon after struggling against Rosas.

“He gets f**king taken down, double-legged, this is the whole fight, 40 seconds,” Cejudo poked. “Look at this motherf**ker, and he’s supposed to beat Khamzat Chimaev next f**king week?” The veteran then delivered the line that inspired his reaction to the defeat, taking a direct shot at Covington's self-proclaimed status.

“Colby Covington, you ain’t the king of sh*t no more.” The Olympic gold medalist did acknowledge that a strong performance against Chimaev could help Covington move past the embarrassment. However, he wasn't convinced that the former interim champion would necessarily get another opportunity against Rosas Jr.

Meanwhile, Usman, who has shared the Octagon with Covington twice, was equally unimpressed by what he saw. The former welterweight champion argued that a fighter with Covington's experience and reputation could not simply brush aside such a result.

“First and foremost, I would say this: That’s not excusable because of your name and the brand that you’ve built,” Usman said. He also questioned whether Covington was prepared for the intensity Rosas brought from the opening moments. 

Usman Offers Some Context Behind Covington's Humbling Defeat

Despite his history with Covington, Usman didn't treat the result as proof that his former rival had suddenly become a poor grappler. Instead, he pointed to the difference between wrestling and submission grappling, arguing that the two disciplines demand different skill sets.

For the unversed, Covington's credentials are rooted in collegiate wrestling. In fact, he earned NCAA Division I All-American honors and has relied on that foundation throughout his MMA career. Rosas Jr., meanwhile, has spent much of his life developing his ground game and is far more accustomed to the submission-focused exchanges that decided their contest.

And "The Nigerian Nightmare" believes that distinction matters, particularly when a wrestler steps into the specialist's territory - “Wrestling and jiu-jitsu are completely different,” he explained. “So Raul Rosas caught him off guard, got in there, and put him away.”

He also pointed out that Rosas' style and physical attributes made him a difficult opponent in that particular setting. The young Mexican fighter is naturally smaller than Covington, but his grappling experience allowed him to capitalize before the former UFC contender could settle into the match.

“You could see (Covington’s) face. He was not ready for that level of intensity right away. For a guy that’s supposed to be intense, he was not ready for that level of intensity.”