Colby Covington is looking to hit the ground running in his return to combat sports. Not only is the perennial welterweight contender already scheduled to fight Leon Edwards for the undisputed UFC welterweight title at UFC 296 this December, but “Chaos” is now targeting a potential sueprfight with lightweight king Islam Makhachev sometime in 2024.
Covington hasn’t competed since a decision win over rival Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272 back in March 2022. Despite his inactivity over the past 18 months, Covington’s track record and ability to sell fights has landed him in another title shot. Should he get past Edwards this coming December Covington will be able to call his own shots in the new year. This may include a matchup with Makhachev, who is currently UFC’s lightweight champion and one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport.
“I’m setting up big business. Leon’s first and then it needs to be American wrestling vs. Dagestani wrestling,” Covington told Submission Radio this week. “Everybody wants to see that fight. Makhachev’s starting to run his mouth but we know his manager [Ali Abdelaziz] ‘Abdela-sleeze’ is not gonna let him get in my crosshairs. He can say whatever he wants to the media but he doesn’t really mean it. Makhachev knows I’d smack the sh-t out of him. He would be able to mess with raw American steel. He’s nothing more than a sheep herder.”
Makhachev, who is scheduled to defend his 155-pound title in a rematch against Charles Oliveira at UFC 294 later this month, has already discussed a potential move up to the welterweight division. The Dagestani fighter may actually be better suited for a heavier weight class, but he must first get past “Do Bronx” in Abu Dhabi before thinking about a move.
“I think it would be the biggest and best spectacle the UFC could put on and that’s what we want to do; the biggest and best fights,” Covington said. “The guy definitely walks around at more weight than I do. I just choose to fight closer to my natural weight. I don’t want to cut all that weight to get the advantage. I’d like to see him come up and test himself.
“Him and the Dagestanis have been talking a big game. Him and Khabib for years were gonna come up, test themselves, go to a different weight class. Those are big guys cutting a lot of weight, getting that big cutting weight advantage, trying to be the stronger guy on fight night at lightweight and just overpower these guys.”
Covington is well known as one of the best wrestlers and all-around grinders in the welterweight division, but Makhachev’s ground game is even more heralded at the lightweight level. That’s why “Chaos” would love for Makhachev to fight closer to his natural weight and test his luck against “raw American steel.”
“Come fight at your natural weight, come test yourself,” Covington said. “He’s talking a game like he wants to be No. 1 pound-for-pound, this is how you prove that. Come up here, let’s see if you’re pound-for-pound No. 1 by fighting a guy at your natural weight.
“He’s another guy that he’s gonna run his mouth, try and hype up a fight but he’s never gonna actually step up and do it, you know? Khabib did the same thing. They know that American wrestling is the best. That sambo sh-t don’t work. He would get worked any day of the week in grappling or wrestling in America. He’s over there playing with sheep, doing his thing over there but that stuff doesn’t work. Yeah, it’s worked on the guys in the light weight class when you can just muscle them around. These are little kids, little boys and none of ‘em wrestled anyway. Now you got a real f—king American wrestler, raw American steel, the highest regard, he knows what would happen.”
What do you think, fight fans? Do you want to see a Covington vs. Makhachev superfight? If so, who would win?
Sound off!