Colby Covington: By The Numbers

Colby Covington has good reason to celebrate any way he wants, even if that includes his stated plan to take his shiny new Ultimate Fighting Championship interim championship belt to the White House. Covington’s meteoric rise through the UFC welterweight division has been substantiated by recent successes over big-name fighters, and punctuated by his victory over former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 225.

Some critics took issue with Covington’s previous few wins: While he came into the UFC with the reputation of a finisher, he couldn’t get seem to get the stoppage when faced with high-level opposition. While Covington’s win at UFC 225 runs his streak of decision victories to four straight, there is no denying his mettle after solid victories over the likes of dos Anjos, Demian Maia and Dong Hyun Kim.

With his victory over dos Anjos, Covington either silenced his detractors or gave them more ammunition, but more importantly, he set up a unification bout with undisputed champion Tyron Woodley. Unsurprisingly, the two began taking verbal shots at each other almost immediately after UFC 225. “The Chosen One” is still dealing with a shoulder injury acquired against Maia during his third title defense. Before the highly anticipated unification bout with Covington gets a date, here is a numerical look at “Chaos.”

2: Time Pac-10 Conference champion. Covington won the 165-pound national junior college wrestling title in his freshman year at Iowa Central Community College, a factory for future MMA stars such as Jon Jones and Cain Velasquez. When the school suspended him after an arrest for alleged drunk driving, he transferred to Oregon State University where he won two conference championships and became a Division I All-American. Before showcasing his talent at the collegiate level, he wrestled for Thurston High School and won the 171-pound state championship as a senior.

5: Wins without a loss in the regional circuit, and the UFC took notice. The promotion took him under its wing in summer of 2014. His promotional debut was successful, as he knocked out Anying Wang with 10 seconds left in the opening round.

1: Defeat in his professional career. He suffered a submission loss to The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 winner, Warlley Alves, in the first round of their UFC 194 encounter.

7: Wins by decision. He went the distance with Jason Jackson, Jose Caceres, Mike Pyle, Bryan Barberena, Dong Hyun Kim, Demian Maia and, most recently, Rafael dos Anjos.

7: Stoppages in his career -- five by submission and two by knockout.

7: Successful takedowns against dos Anjos’ three in their UFC 225 encounter. However, the former lightweight champion outstruck Covington, 105-99.

88: Significant strikes against Demian Maia’s 53 at UFC Fight Night 119. Covington turned away all 13 of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist’s takedown attempts and dominated the action on the feet to claim the victory.

47: Significant strikes landed in comparison to Dong Hyun Kim’s 19. That lopsided victory came at UFC Fight Night 111.

0: Fight bonuses in the UFC. Covington is still looking for his first Fight of the Night or Performance of the Night award. He has not stopped an opponent since knocking out Max Griffin at UFC 202.

30: Years old and just reaching his peak. Covington was born on Feb. 22, 1988 in Rocklin, California.