Covington a polarizing UFC figure

CALGARY Colby Covington is a terrific fighter who harbours some deeply problematic views.

Those two things can be true at the same time.

He beat Tyron Woodley in impressive fashion in the headliner of Saturday night's UFC card in Las Vegas. He then proceeded to denounce the Black Lives Matter movement. He said “they” were terrorists, possibly referring to people within the movement or possibly referring to the Black people who have been killed by police — people like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor — and whose deaths were the catalyst for so many in the Black Lives Matter movement calling for long overdue change.

It's not entirely clear who he was referring to, but it's an ugly, likely racist statement either way.

Covington isn't going anywhere, though. It's a difficult reality for fight fans. He's one of the very best fighters in the world and will likely get a second shot at the welterweight belt very soon. Here are five takeaways from Saturday's fights:

1. BAD

There's always been a sense that Covington has been trolling the MMA world with his crass, diehard Donald Trump-supporting gimmick. You expected that behind closed doors, he was a different person.

Maybe Covington isn't racist, maybe he is. Saying a movement that's fighting for equal rights and social justice and for Black people is a “sham” certainly seems racist.

2. WHAT'S UP WITH WOODLEY

For a while, it felt like Woodley was just waiting for his moment to explode. How else could you explain his passivity in a fight where emotions were running this high?

The explosion never happened. Woodley remained passive and was thoroughly dominated. He just doesn't look like the man he was back when he was welterweight champion, although we found out after the fight that he broke his rib early in the fight. That does explain a lot.

Woodley has now lost three fights in a row. His time at the top appears to be done, and he's going to likely have many sleepless nights ahead where he lies in bed and wonders why he didn't try to do more on Saturday night.

3. IT'S TIME

It was heartwarming to see how much respect Niko Price had for Donald Cerrone after their three round majority draw on Saturday night. Price genuinely seemed honoured to have been in the octagon with a UFC legend, and in the midst of so much toxicity it was nice to see some compassion and care.

With that said, it's becoming increasingly difficult to look at Cerrone and not feel like the time has come for him to hang up his gloves and move on to his post-fight life.

He called Saturday night's performance the worst of his career, and that's telling. He simply seems to have lost a step over the past couple of years, and he hasn't won in his last five fights.

There's no shame in walking away from the fight game.

4. THE REAL DEAL

There's a lot of hype surrounding Khamzat Chimaev, and you've got to give the guy credit for living up to it so far.

After destroying his competition in two mid-July fights, Chimaev made short work of Gerald Meerschaert on Saturday. It took him all of 17 seconds to land a devastating one-punch knockout that established him as arguably the fastest-rising star on the UFC roster.

The guy is an absolute stud, and while all the usual caveats about waiting to see what he can do against higher-ranked opponents do apply here, we should be getting him against Demian Maia soon. That's a nice test against a savvy veteran.

5. BIZARRE DECISION

Randa Markos' decision to follow Mackenzie Dern to the mat in the first round of their fight on Saturday night was truly baffling. Markos has skills on the ground, sure, but Dern is arguably the most accomplished jiu-jitsu practitioner in the entire UFC.

There was just no good reason for Markos to engage with Dern on the ground. The rest of the fight was basically just a formality, as Dern took complete control before finishing things up with an armbar before the first round was through.