Colby Covington Batters Demian Maia In Brazil

Round 1:

Maia opens with a jab and hook, Covington responds with a jumping switch kick that misses. Maia is looking pretty impressive on the feet thus far and is landing some nice shots to Covington’s chin. A leg kick lands for Covington and a big left hand from Main forces Covington to back up. A takedown attempt from Maia now and it’s stuffed. More left hands land for Maia and Covington is ripping off some leg kicks. Maia continues to land his left hand but Covington is landing hard leg kicks continuously.

Maia has been tagging Covington up so nicely that he is busted open above his eye and is bleeding profusely. Covington is starting to land some nice strikes now but Maia continues to move around nicely. Now Covington rips off some hard shots and pressures Maia against the cage. The leg kicks from Covington are now forcing Maia’s legs to swell up.

A big shot lands for Maia and wobbles Covington a bit, but Covington is firing back with heavy strikes of his own. Maia now grabs a leg and works a takedown but Covington sprawls and is looking to lock up the neck. Maia gets to his feet and the round ends with Covington blitzing Maia with strikes.

Round 2:

Covington stuffs a takedown to open the round and the pair are back up to their feet immediately. Covington stuffs another takedown and presses Maia against the cage before backing up. Again Maia shoots in and locks up Covington’s legs, but Covington has top position and defends well. They stand again but Maia shoots yet again. Maia lays down but Covington refuses to engage and the ref stands him up.

A left hand lands for Maia but now Covington is landing some big shots in response. Both men look tired and Maia shoots in again, but Covington defends. Covington stands up and pressures forward with striking, and Maia shoots again. The ref stands Maia up as Covington stands and Covington now busts Maia open with his jab. The round comes to an end with Covington landing a few strikes on Maia.

Round 3:

Maia avoids most of Covington’s offense and is able to land a nice uppercut inside the pocket. Covington clinches up and lands a few hard shots but they disengage and Maia shoots in on a failed takedown attempt. They stand back up but Covington is now landing some big shots. Both men are exhausted and things are looking very sloppy. Covington is obviously the fresher of the pair and is landing the better shots.

The sloppy fighting continues before Covington pulls off a string of hard shots and Maia is trying to survive at this point. He shoots in on a takedown and Covington stands up. Another takedown attempt and it’s stuffed as Covington just lays down on Maia, dropping ground-and-pound. The fight comes to an end at the buzzer with Covington landing a barrage of ground-and-pound.

Official Result: Colby Covington def. Demian Maia via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-27, 30-26)