Let's Be Real: Trash Talk Ruined Colby Covington's Career

Siver! said:
Is that what he wanted?

I'm sure every fighter wants to headline and get title shots, but what about giving yourself the best chance to win those titles by staying at a suitable gym, as part of a serious team filled with talent, and living up to your potential?

I dunno.

I'm sure there are plenty of people in other team sports who are just happy to get signed by a specific team and reap the rewards, but the best players who will always be remembered are the ones that actually perform at that level.

Colby gets threads and attention now, but will anyone remember him in 2035?

Usman will be in the conversation, as will Leon Edwards, as will Tyron Woodley.

Colby will be an also ran, and his past trash talk won't matter to future audiences.

The question is, was that the limit of his abilities anyway, or has he actually cost himself by being forced out of ATT?

I think the latter. I think he could have run Usman a lot harder in the rematch, and most certainly would have come in gameplanned up against Leon.
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Right, I just disagree that he regressed after leaving, and didn't even lose rounds to anybody but Usman after leaving, and even that was 48-47, with several media scores having it a draw, compared to the other pretty even fight that he also would have lost 48-47 if the ref didn't stop it. But even if he did regress after leaving, he probably wouldn't have even gotten a 2nd shot were it not for his shit talking making it a rivalry. Usman wasn't selling 10 ppvs before Colby came along.


Do you think Colby is now or was ever much better than Gilbert Burns? Burns did stay at ATT, and didn't win a title either, he just doesn't get the bonus of headlining PPVs and getting another title shot.
 
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nostradumbass said:
Right, but what I'm saying is that he really didn't regress after leaving, and didn't even lose rounds to anybody but Usman after leaving, and even that was 48-47, with several media scores having it a draw, compared to the other pretty even fight that he also would have lost 48-47 if the ref didn't stop it.


Do you think Colby is now or was ever much better than Gilbert Burns? Burns did stay at ATT, and didn't win a title either, he just doesn't get the bonus of headlining PPVs and getting another title shot.
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I think Colby had a higher ceiling than Burns for sure.

I don't think looking back there's a lot between them, though.

They both kinda achieved roughly the same.

But I don't think they should have.

If Colby and Burns had fought any time in the last 4-5 years, I'd have picked Colby all day long.

You?
 
Siver! said:
View attachment 1019673
Looks to me like Colby panicked, adopted this 'Captain Chaos'-esque South Park-type character, even calling himself a 'super villain'.

View attachment 1019674
But here's the thing.

What the UFC want, and what's best for the fighter, are two separate things.

View attachment 1019675
And that, right there, is where it all went wrong.

Leaving ATT was the death of Colby's career as a top level fighter. Performances have got progressively worse without the super-gym American Top Team, and he landed almost half the number of strikes registered in his final fight under ATT - against Kamaru Usman - in the rematch.

Beating the ghosts of Tyron Woodley and Jorge Masvidal combined with his trash talk kept getting him title shots gifted by Dana White, but...

... it was too late. His pathetic performance against Leon Edwards will be his last major fight, and he blew it.

This is a cautionary tale. Yeah, you can get title shots by running your mouth - but running your mouth at the expense of your career? Colby done fucked up. I keep hearing about how he increased his value to the UFC, sure, but he also lowered the ceiling on his own potential. He was never going to win the belt, but I think it was a possibility if he hadn't pissed it all away on this 'super villain' bullshit.

Always keep it real, folks.

Merry Christmas!
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Colby's story is a cautionary tale of the proverbial ditch on both sides of the road.
 
Bisping tried to give Cloby some really sound advice about trash talking back in 2018, but he didn't listen.

 
Siver! said:
I think Colby had a higher ceiling than Burns for sure.

I don't think looking back there's a lot between them, though.

They both kinda achieved roughly the same.

But I don't think they should have.

If Colby and Burns had fought any time in the last 4-5 years, I'd have picked Colby all day long.

You?
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I don't know, Colby might have outlasted him, but I wouldn't put mone

Colby is maybe the best example in the UFC of someone making the absolute most of what he had. He's one of the smaller guys in the division as a wrestler, 0 KO power, not really even a submission threat, not especially fast, and just keeps coming after guys bigger than him until they break, and can even get his jaw broken and still come out and win the next round convincingly.

Without the shit talking, he's a slightly smaller Jon Fitch or Belal Muhammed, but managed to make himself one of the most talked about fighters on the roster instead of getting the nickname "smoke break" or "what's his name". A ticket costs the same whether you're watching to see someone win or hoping they lose.

There really aren't any other "boring" fighters that the UFC that stayed in title contention for several years.
 
nostradumbass said:
I don't know, Colby might have outlasted him, but I wouldn't put mone

Colby is maybe the best example in the UFC of someone making the absolute most of what he had. He's one of the smaller guys in the division as a wrestler, 0 KO power, not really even a submission threat, not especially fast, and just keeps coming after guys bigger than him until they break, and can even get his jaw broken and still come out and win the next round convincingly.

Without the shit talking, he's a slightly smaller Jon Fitch or Belal Muhammed, but managed to make himself one of the most talked about fighters on the roster instead of getting the nickname "smoke break" or "what's his name". A ticket costs the same whether you're watching to see someone win or hoping they lose.

There really aren't any other "boring" fighters that the UFC that stayed in title contention for several years.
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Randy Couture was boring as shit. GSP wasn't exactly thrill-a-minute either. Tim Sylvia?

In all seriousness, Leon Edwards is also kinda boring, but in a totally different way.

Obviously Belal getting denied a title shot makes Colby's trash nonsense look good, but there are a bunch of UFC elite fighters that don't exactly scream "only interesting fighters get title shots".

Sometimes boring fighters just have to keep winning, but eventually their chance comes.

The best example of a fighter never getting his shot is actually Tony, and he wasn't boring.
 
He just isn't championship material. Tough guy, a grinder, had a great work ethic in his prime, but the talent just isn't there, and I think he knows it. He's a limited guy whose ceiling is to be another Jon Fitch/Jake Shields type of guy. The difference is that he managed to buy himself more opportunities by running his mouth.
 
The nerd bash era was funny, the trump stuff became tiresome
 
PhotographyRaptor said:
Don’t forget “I blame Obama” Jacob Volkmann. He was 6-2 but got subbed by The King and was gonzo’s. He got relegated to fighting in the World Series of fighting whatever that was 🤷‍♂️
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Volkman first made comments about Obama on a UFC broadcast at the beginning of 2011 when he beat McKee. He did it again later that year. Both comments earned him visits from the Secret Service, and national news exposure either for the comment itself, or the fact that the Secret Service got involved. He wasn't cut until 2013, when he went 1 and 2 in his last 3 fights. No, Colby wasn't getting cut off a win streak if a Volkman wasn't cut for getting the Secret Service involved. Hell, Volkman didn't have a finish in the UFC until his second to last fight; his 1 win sandwiched between the 2 losses that ended his UFC tenure.
PhotographyRaptor said:
He’s like Tito without the brutal gnp and coconut dome.
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Nah, Tito had his own brand. Both figuratively, and literally. Tito was Punishment Athletics. He branded himself and used that brand to enrich himself. Tito winning earned him fans, and that sold shorts and tshirts. Tito fighting hard but losing still made hims fans, and still sold Tshirts and shorts. Colby branded himself with a brand he doesn't own, doesn't control, and is fixated on "winning". As much as Tito struggled like Colby to put words together, he was smart enough to know that he should own his own brand. Colby isn't.
Siver! said:
Poirier is a great counterargument to Colby.

Both guys have ultimately ended up around the same level. Good, but not world champion level. Both interim champs, though.

Yet Colby's supposedly made the most of his career because he talks shit, yet Poirier has by all accounts made more money and had a better career by focusing more on fighting.

If there are kids growing up wondering if they have to be like Colby, Dustin clearly says no, you don't!
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Poirier is the perfect counterargument to Colby. Dustin is another fighter who understood that your brand exists beyond the press conference and outside of the octagon. Can anyone imagine Colby doing an interview like this? What would he talk about?

Side point, did anyone here know Colby has a nonprofit for first responders? Dustin has a nonprofit, The Good Fight. I'm sure some of you know about it because he talks about it. Colby's nonprofit is called "American's Champions". He's said the phase a lot, but he's failed to market the fact that it's a charity. And this isn't just me thinking that anecdotally. Check out the website. Look at his social media links. 1 follower on twitter, 15 on facebook, and 57 in instagram. I thought maybe they were just too new, because they aren't listed on any website that I could find that rates charities, but they've been around since at least Feb. of this year, and they had a poker tournament in November that raised over 20k, according to their Facebook page. There is no mention of this tournament on their website, except in "Colby's Story" where they say they are going to do it. Nothing under the news that says they did it. And nothing about it, or anything else, on Twitter, where they haven't even bothered to post. This Soyboy is crushing his charity on social media.
 
the_details said:
Volkman first made comments about Obama on a UFC broadcast at the beginning of 2011 when he beat McKee. He did it again later that year. Both comments earned him visits from the Secret Service, and national news exposure either for the comment itself, or the fact that the Secret Service got involved. He wasn't cut until 2013, when he went 1 and 2 in his last 3 fights. No, Colby wasn't getting cut off a win streak if a Volkman wasn't cut for getting the Secret Service involved. Hell, Volkman didn't have a finish in the UFC until his second to last fight; his 1 win sandwiched between the 2 losses that ended his UFC tenure.

Nah, Tito had his own brand. Both figuratively, and literally. Tito was Punishment Athletics. He branded himself and used that brand to enrich himself. Tito winning earned him fans, and that sold shorts and tshirts. Tito fighting hard but losing still made hims fans, and still sold Tshirts and shorts. Colby branded himself with a brand he doesn't own, doesn't control, and is fixated on "winning". As much as Tito struggled like Colby to put words together, he was smart enough to know that he should own his own brand. Colby isn't.

Poirier is the perfect counterargument to Colby. Dustin is another fighter who understood that your brand exists beyond the press conference and outside of the octagon. Can anyone imagine Colby doing an interview like this? What would he talk about?

Side point, did anyone here know Colby has a nonprofit for first responders? Dustin has a nonprofit, The Good Fight. I'm sure some of you know about it because he talks about it. Colby's nonprofit is called "American's Champions". He's said the phase a lot, but he's failed to market the fact that it's a charity. And this isn't just me thinking that anecdotally. Check out the website. Look at his social media links. 1 follower on twitter, 15 on facebook, and 57 in instagram. I thought maybe they were just too new, because they aren't listed on any website that I could find that rates charities, but they've been around since at least Feb. of this year, and they had a poker tournament in November that raised over 20k, according to their Facebook page. There is no mention of this tournament on their website, except in "Colby's Story" where they say they are going to do it. Nothing under the news that says they did it. And nothing about it, or anything else, on Twitter, where they haven't even bothered to post. This Soyboy is crushing his charity on social media.
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Hey I threw you a like for the cause.
 
Jakob Volkmann is a good example of someone winning fights but are cut due to being boring and having a very bland personality,

Fitch is another.


If only they had adopted some wrestling-personas.
 
trash talk got him the fame but he couldn't handle it

that's why he never got the belt. dude is not cut out for the top
 
kind of act is bullshit, wanting to hurt people with words is not an act, it's called narcissism or psychopath, lack of empathy
 
Actually it was the only thing he started seeing real money and made his career, certainly wasn't his fighting abilities.
 
I disagree. I think it got him the attention he needed to get title shots. He was a great fighter but his style was boring and he was boring. If he hadn’t done what he did he probably would have faded into obscurity with no title shots and no one would really remember him
 
Siver! said:
View attachment 1019673
Looks to me like Colby panicked, adopted this 'Captain Chaos'-esque South Park-type character, even calling himself a 'super villain'.

View attachment 1019674
But here's the thing.

What the UFC want, and what's best for the fighter, are two separate things.

View attachment 1019675
And that, right there, is where it all went wrong.

Leaving ATT was the death of Colby's career as a top level fighter. Performances have got progressively worse without the super-gym American Top Team, and he landed almost half the number of strikes registered in his final fight under ATT - against Kamaru Usman - in the rematch.

Beating the ghosts of Tyron Woodley and Jorge Masvidal combined with his trash talk kept getting him title shots gifted by Dana White, but...

... it was too late. His pathetic performance against Leon Edwards will be his last major fight, and he blew it.

This is a cautionary tale. Yeah, you can get title shots by running your mouth - but running your mouth at the expense of your career? Colby done fucked up. I keep hearing about how he increased his value to the UFC, sure, but he also lowered the ceiling on his own potential. He was never going to win the belt, but I think it was a possibility if he hadn't pissed it all away on this 'super villain' bullshit.

Always keep it real, folks.

Merry Christmas!
Click to expand...
Quite the contrary, Colby talking got him title shots, got him exposure, support from fans, hate from the haters, he resonated. The worst thing to have as a fighter is complete indifference from fans. If they like you great, if they hate you, same great. He got multiple title shots, money, etc, etc. If he was never going to win the belt anyways, then whats the point? Shut up and fade into further obscurity? Or talk a bunch of mess, get a bunch of views, and get a bunch of neckbeards who hate him, but still wont stop making threads about him? You're still playing right into it. If he was already going to be nothing, then who gives a shit. He made his mark, and people still won't shut the fuck up about him.

Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals!
 
nostradumbass said:
Right, I just disagree that he regressed after leaving, and didn't even lose rounds to anybody but Usman after leaving, and even that was 48-47, with several media scores having it a draw, compared to the other pretty even fight that he also would have lost 48-47 if the ref didn't stop it. But even if he did regress after leaving, he probably wouldn't have even gotten a 2nd shot were it not for his shit talking making it a rivalry. Usman wasn't selling 10 ppvs before Colby came along.


Do you think Colby is now or was ever much better than Gilbert Burns? Burns did stay at ATT, and didn't win a title either, he just doesn't get the bonus of headlining PPVs and getting another title shot.
Click to expand...
Burns is a Henri Hooft guy.
 
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