Colby Covington Voices Interest In Fighting Israel Adesanya And Islam Makhachev: ‘I Think It’s A Very Real Possibility’

Colby Covington is open to changing divisions after fighting Leon Edwards for the UFC welterweight championship.

Colby Covington
Colby Covington (Left), Israel Adesanya (Middle), and Islam Makhachev (Right)(Images via Instagram @ColbyCovMMA @Stylebender @Islam_Makhachev)

Colby Covington revealed he could fight Israel Adesanya and Islam Makhachev in the future. 

Covington last fought in March 2022, defeating Jorge Masvidal in the UFC 272 main event. ‘Chaos’ fell off the grid before weighing in as the backup for Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman III earlier this year. Although he wasn’t needed for March 18, Dana White confirmed ‘Chaos’ would be getting the next 170-pound title shot

Assuming he can defeat Edwards for the welterweight throne, Covington might move up and down in weight classes to pursue super-fights. During a recent interview with Mike Heck of MMAFighting, ‘Chaos’ had this to say about potentially fighting Adesanya, the reigning UFC middleweight champion:

“I like the matchup [against Israel Adesanya], 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.”

Covington continued by saying:

“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.”

Adesanya regained the 185-pound title in a rematch against Alex Pereira on April 8. Now that Pereira has moved to light heavyweight, ‘The Last Stylebender’ needs new challenges, making the fight against Covington slightly possible. 

Colby Covington thinks a matchup against Islam Makhachev is realistic

It’s fair to say that Colby Covington isn’t a massive 170-pounder. Therefore, the possibility of ‘Chaos’ finding success at lightweight is higher than at light heavyweight. During the same interview with MMAFighting, Covington showed interest in cutting down to 155 pounds and fighting the reigning champion Islam Makhachev. He had this to say: 

“I think it’s a very realistic possibility. There were conversations backstage in the past that we had about [fighting Makhachev], and if I could make 155 because I’m not a big 170 [pounder].”

Makhachev defended the UFC lightweight championship for the first time on February 11 against Alexander Volkanovski. Since then, he has been waiting for his next title challenger, which will likely be determined between Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush on June 10. 

Meanwhile, Covington has to focus on Leon Edwards before worrying about other weight classes. The 170-pound title fight is expected to take place later this year.

Published on May 11, 2023 at 11:59 pm
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