UFC welterweight Colby Covington is never shy to express his beliefs or confidence in his fighting ability. He is next in line to fight UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards for the title later this year. Many of Covington’s critics believe that UFC shouldn’t allow him to fight for the title since he hasn’t fought for over a year. His last win was against his friend-turned-rival Jorge Masvidal by unanimous decision at UFC 272 on March 5, 2022.
Since UFC President Dana White announced that Covington would be challenging for the welterweight title, Covington has started to set goals for when he believes he will beat Edwards. He has shared that after he defeats Edwards, he wants to move up to the 185-pound division to challenge UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya.
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He spoke with MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck about his plans to dethrone Adesanya as champion, as he believes it will be easy.
“…I think that’s a huge fight, and it’s a fight of high magnitude. So, “I like the matchup, to be honest. I don’t think he can hang with me. I think I take him down, I beat him from pillar to post, and I just break him inside that octagon. He can’t hang with the cardio king,” said Covington. He added, “…I don’t think he wants to fight a high-level wrestler like me. Someone that can just keep up and be in his face the whole entire time pressuring him. I’m not just going to shoot one takedown. I’m going to shoot 5,000 takedowns and be in your face and break you, so you know I would love that fight.”
Covington also shared how he wants to go to lightweight to challenge Islam Makhachev for the UFC Lightweight Championship. He noted that he helped train Adriano Martins, who gave Makhachev his only loss.
Image: Stephen R. Sylvanie/USA TODAY Sports
Michael Bisping Reacts to Colby Covington’s Claims of Beating Israel Adesanya
UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping shared on his Youtube Channel that he believes Covington breaking Adesanya in a fight will not be easy. He noted that former UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker struggled against “The Last Stylebender.”
“…If you speak to Colby Covington or you listen to Colby Covington, he’s going to be the first ever three-weight division champion because he said he’s going to beat Leon Edwards or Leon Scott, again I don’t know where that comes from. I don’t even know how that is insulting, but still, he’s going to beat Leon Edwards in his mind and become the welterweight champ. Then he’s going to go up to 185. He’s going to beat Israel Adesanya because he’s going to shoot all these takedowns. He’s going to take him down. Listen, Israel Adesanya has tremendous takedown defense. That will not be that easy. Look at Robert Whittaker, for crying out loud. That man is a sensational fighter, so far hasn’t been able to get the job done,” said Bisping.
Image: Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC
Although Bisping dismissed Covington’s claims of breaking Adesanya, he does think the welterweight could move down to lightweight.
“…If Islam continues to dominate the division to remain the champion, if Colby doesn’t get the job done against Leon, maybe he does go down to 155. He’s not the biggest welterweight. He’s talked about it himself. He said that he eats whatever he wants, and he still doesn’t cut much weight,” said Bisping.
While Bisping is not sure if Covington can be a three-division champion, he does admire that he is making statements like that to gain interest. However, he will have to get through Edwards first, which is not an easy task.
Read Also: Colby Covington Shuts Down Talk Of Fighting Leon Edwards In Abu Dhabi, Names Targeted Location
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