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Colby Covington has yet to finalize his planned title fight with UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards, but he is already thinking far into the future. “Chaos,” in fact, sees himself winning the 170-pound strap and later on moving up in weight to potentially become the next “double-champ.”
And in that hypothetical fight with reigning middleweight king Israel Adesanya, Covington already has a gameplan in mind.
Colby Covington foresees ‘champion vs. champion’ matchup with Adesanya
In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Covington entertained the idea of a fight with Adesanya. And as per usual, he responded with his usual quotable quotes.
“Absolutely [I’d still love that matchup], I think that’s a huge fight and it’s a fight of high magnitude. 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. He’s not ready for raw American steel and twisted sex appeal.
“I would love that fight, champion vs. champion, USA vs. wherever he’s from New Zealand or whatever, let’s get this going.”
Colby Covington lays down game plan for potential Adesanya fight
To further his “cardio king” claim, Colby Covington laid out his planned approach against “The Last Stylebender.” Like in many of his fights, it will all revolve around his wrestling.
But Covington says it won’t just be the usual takedown approach that many of his peers utilize.
“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,” he said of Adesanya. “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.”
“If that’s what the UFC wants to do, I’m here. I’m a company man, I’m a businessman so I care about the company and whatever the company wants to do, I want to do the biggest and best business for the company, the UFC, the greatest organization in the world.”
Covington on Belal Muhammad
On Saturday at UFC 288, Belal Muhammad defeated Gilbert Burns in the co-main event, creating a conversation of him being the next in line for the crack at the belt. In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Covington revealed the timeline for the Edwards title fight, which he says would be around August or September.
And according to him, Belal would have to wait and possibly take another fight.
“They were fighting for nothing last night,” Covington said of the Burns-Muhammad bout.
“You think he’s just gonna sit out till early 2024? ‘Cause now this title fight’s getting pushed back till later in the end of the year. You know, fall, winter. So, you think he’s just gonna be able to sit out?
“(Belal) has that type of star power to sit out and then call his shot? No, he’s gonna have to fight again. And, and rightfully so.”
Covington has been inactive since March 2022, when he fought former teammate Jorge Masvidal in a grudge match at UFC 272. His declared title shot has been put in question, particularly by Edwards himself.
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