Colby Covington is looking to make a move to middleweight, believing it is the right call for his career at this stage. Dana White recently addressed questions about why Covington remains ranked at 170 pounds, despite not having won a fight since March 2022.
Colby Covington is looking to make a move to middleweight, believing it is the right call for his career at this stage.
Dana White recently addressed questions about why Covington remains ranked at 170 pounds, despite not having won a fight since March 2022.
Since then, he has lost two straight fights – the first time he has done so in his 22-fight career.
But after beating Luke Rockhold at RAF 05 on Saturday night, the 37-year-old said he feels a new sense of energy.
Covington spoke about how this result could lead to a new direction in his career.
Colby Covington interested in Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland fights at middleweight
After defeating Rockhold, Covington is now confident in his ability to compete at middleweight.
The former interim welterweight champion spoke to Submission Radio shortly after his win, saying the lack of big names at 170 pounds is another factor pushing him towards a move up in weight.
While Covington has had some back-and-forth with Bo Nickal, he does not think the rising American has done enough yet to deserve a fight with him.
Instead, he mentioned a former UFC champion as a more appealing target after making the jump up a division.
“I think someone like Israel Adesanya, that’s someone that intrigues me. A former champion like myself, someone that generates hype, has a following, has a platform and a brand,” he said.
Covington explained: “So, I think the Izzy fights makes a lot more sense than anything and it’s someone I don’t really like. He’s talked a lot of s— about me in the past so let’s see if he can actually back that s— talk up.”
‘Chaos’ was then asked about the possibility of facing Strickland and showed plenty of interest in that match-up as well.
“Oh yeah, I would love that fight. He’s a cardio kickboxer, man. I’ll beat him everywhere. You saw what Dricus [du Plessis] did to him, I’d do the same thing. So, I would love that fight. That press conference would be fun, it would be bonkers. So yeah, we can settle it for sure. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. That guy used to copy everything I did.”
Colby Covington backs Khamzat Chimaev to dominate at middleweight
Covington would be at a size disadvantage in the middleweight division, but his wrestling and stamina could help close the gap against larger opponents.
Khamzat Chimaev has looked unstoppable, and many believe his wrestling is simply on another level compared to others in the division.
‘Chaos’ admitted that it is tough to pick someone who could dethrone the champion right now, then went on to describe what it might take to break Chimaev’s undefeated run.
“To beat him, you’re going to have to wrestle into him and defensively have insane sprawls and insane down blocking defense and stop his takedowns and make it a striking fight like Gilbert Burns did.
“Or, have such good jiu-jitsu and striking that you can counteract one another. But, unless you threaten him with submissions or takedown defense, he’s just going to be walking through that division,” Covington stated.
Category: General Sports
