Second Place Sonnen finally comes in first

Colby Covington followed the Chael Sonnen path to a T, right down to the failures.

Illustration by BE Art Director Chris Rini

Colby Covington had a rare opportunity this past Saturday in Las Vegas at UFC 296. With his fight against Leon Edwards, he became one of a very few fighters in UFC history to ever fight for gold three times without ever winning a belt.

A man first recruited to MMA by former multiple time title challenger Chael Sonnen (as the broadcast pointed out just before he stepped into the Octagon), in many ways, ‘Chaos’ has seemed like a continuation of the former Team Quest talent’s career. After starting his time in MMA as a hard-nosed, hard working wrestle-grinder, Covington flipped a switch and became a loud-mouthed, brash ‘performer’. A fighter more known for his ability to rile foes outside of the cage than for the definitive nature of his victories inside it.

Just like Sonnen, that recipe proved to be a major success. At least when it came to getting chances to fight for titles. Sonnen fought Anderson Silva twice, nearly winning the first, before getting put away in the second. And followed that up with a surprise title fight opportunity against Jon Jones, where he got utterly annihilated—excepting a toe injury that nearly gave him the belt on a technicality, had he been able to see the second round.

Unfortunately, much like his collegiate wrestling career—where Sonnen always managed to do very well—he never actually found a way to grab the brass ring…