Colby Covington reacts to Chael Sonnen wanting to throw the towel in at UFC on ESPN 63

12/30/2024 08:50 AM

Colby Covington surprisingly took well to Chael Sonnen wanting to stop his fight at UFC on ESPN 63.

Sonnen cornered Covington (17-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) in his doctor stoppage TKO loss to Joaquin Buckley (21-6 MMA, 11-4 UFC) earlier this month at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. The doctor waved the fight off toward the end of Round 3 after a laceration on Covington’s right eyelid did not stop bleeding.

Covington wasn’t happy with the outcome, but Sonnen later admitted he was on the verge of throwing the towel in to stop the fight.

“Chael cares about me – he’s a real one,” Covington said during a recent stream on his Twitch channel (h/t Home of Fight). “If he was throwing it in, it’s because he knows I couldn’t see. He knows that where the cut was at, it was bleeding into my right eye and I couldn’t see. I was seeing three or four different people.

“(Buckley), he couldn’t do nothing to me, not even seeing anything, seeing blurry, coming off the couch. Look at how far my back was against the wall, but I did it for the company. Like I said, guys: Don’t hear me complaining. I don’t want sympathy, but I did that for the company.”

Although he lost Rounds 1 and 2, Covington was adamant that he was in the process of turning the tide in Round 3 before the stoppage.

“He knew that I couldn’t see, so if he’s going to do it, it’s because he cares about me and he knows that I couldn’t see, and it was going to be tough to overcome,” Covington said. “I thought I was coming on stronger, and I feel like they were going to have to throw in the towel for Buckley by Round 5. So it sucks – it’s unfortunate.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC on ESPN 63.