Off the back of his recent loss, former interim champion, Colby Covington has welcomed the chance to test the waters at the middleweight limit in his return — particularly eyeing a charge against incoming UFC 312 title challenger, Sean Strickland, claiming the ex-title challenger is “very limited.
Covington, who retains the number nine rank at the welterweight limit, took headlining honors at UFC Fight Night Orlando on short-notice last month, suffering an eventual third round doctor’s stoppage TKO loss against surging challenger, Joaquin Buckley.
And now in the midst of a two-fight losing run, Clovis native, Covington — who previously welcomed the chance to take on both former title challenger, Gilbert Burns, as well as former undisputed lightweight kingpin, Charles Oliveira, now has his own plans to make a leap to 185lbs.
Colby Covington weighs up middleweight fight with Sean Strickland
In particular, MMA Masters staple, Covington has weighed up the chance to take on incoming championship chaser, Strickland — who himself headlines UFC 312 next month in Sydney, rematching former-foe, Dricus du Plessis — with Covington labelling the former as “nothing special”.
“I think I’ve just been so focused on welterweight for so long that, you know, I never let my eyes get off of the, you know, the couple of fights that I’m looking at at welterweight,” Colby Covington told Submission Radio during a recent interview. But, you know, I mean, the Sean Strickland fight’s always interesting.
You know, he’s had his things to say about me in the past. I don’t think he’s anything special,” Colby Covington explained. “He’s got a jab, he’s got a front kick, but besides that, you know, you shut those weapons down, and he’s very limited.
So, you know, he’s a cardio fighter. He’s just a cardio kickboxer, essentially. So, you know, I don’t see any threats out of Sean Strickland, and it’s an entertaining fight that I might entertain in the future. We’ll see.”