Colby Covington is gunning for the welterweight title and he made a strong statement about that fact before and after his fight with Dong Hyun Kim on Saturday in Singapore.
A former All-American wrestler from Oregon State University, Covington has long been considered one of the top prospects at welterweight but now he has a signature win over a top 10 opponent as he starts looking to make even bigger waves in the division.
Making no mystery at his game plan, Covington rushed across the Octagon as soon as the fight started looking to get the fight to the ground while using his vast wrestling history against the top 10 ranked welterweight.
Kim did a tremendous job resisting the takedown while using his judo background to keep his hips away from Covington, never allowing him to get complete control of his body.
Still, Covington was relentless with his pressure although he didn't do much damage outside of pressing for the takedown throughout the opening round.
Covington's relentless pressure continued throughout the fight while mauling Kim against the cage, using his superior grappling to keep the Korean welterweight from opening up much offense at all.
When the fighters finally did separate from the clinch, Covington threw a big overhand left that clipped and staggered Kim, which put him on wobbly legs as he backed up against the fence yet again.
Covington attempted to follow up with strikes but ultimately ended up back in the clinch until the end of the round.
The third round saw more of the same with Covington just grinding away with Kim unable to break free from his vice-like grip against the cage. Kim did manage a lone reversal with a takedown late in the fight but his advantage lasted only for a matter of seconds before Covington was back on top until the fight came to an end.
The end result was a shutout performance from Covington with 30-25, 30-26, and 30-27 scores giving him a lopsided victory against the No. 7 ranked welterweight in the world.
"I'm the uncrowned king of this division," Covington shouted after the win. "Dana [White], I'm a 32 waist get that belt ready for me!"
Covington has now won four fights in a row while making a very strong statement on Saturday with a win over a veteran contender like Kim.
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