Gable Steveson had a reality check at UFC 331 , held last Saturday (19). Considered the biggest favorite of the event, the Olympic medalist lasted only 12 seconds in the octagon and ended up being brutally knocked out by Sean Sharaf. For Colby Covington , the result can be explained by Steveson's departure from the main characteristic that led him to success in wrestling.
In an interview with 'Submission Radio', Covington stated that Steveson began to overestimate himself, underestimate his opponents, and act as if he were invincible. The fighter also highlighted that the Olympic champion stopped using wrestling in his fights and began to prioritize striking, questioning whether the change occurred due to a lack of confidence in his own physical conditioning or a desire to achieve knockouts.
See too
“He was overestimating himself, underestimating the other competitors, and simply thought he was invincible. He’s a great athlete, an Olympic wrestling champion, but when you distance yourself from what brought you here, it’s never going to be good for you, and that’s exactly what he did,” said Colby Covington.
In Covington's view, abandoning the main weapon that propelled Stevenson to the top level may have been decisive in the outcome against Sharaf.
“You don’t see him trying to wrestle in any of his fights; he just goes straight for the striking. I don’t know if that’s because he doesn’t trust his own physical conditioning or if he’s simply fallen in love with stand-up fighting and wants to knock out his opponents, but when you forget what got you here, it always ends up being a recipe for disaster,” the loudmouth concluded.
Johnny Walker opens up about his heavyweight debut at UFC 332.
Comments