Khamzat Chimaev has a lot more work to do according to Colby Covington.
Covington takes on Kamaru Usman in a welterweight title rematch that will headline the UFC 268 pay-per-view event taking place Saturday night in New York’s Madison Square Garden.
A win would not only earn Covington revenge over Usman for their first fight back in December 2019, but would also see him accomplish his goal of becoming an undisputed UFC champion.
Covington has also gone on record stating that his pending beating on Usman is going to be so emphatic that there won’t even be a trilogy fight. It’s highly unlikely in reality as even if Usman were to lose, a trilogy would be the likely next step.
But if not Usman, who would Covington face in his first title defense?
Leon Edwards would be the ideal challenger as he is more than next in line. However, the hype with Khamzat Chimaev following UFC 267 could see him leapfrog the Briton for the next title shot.
Covington, however, is not impressed with “Borz” and feels he needs a lot more wins before thinking of getting a title shot.
“’You know C*mshot Chimaev, he’s got to do a lot more work than get three fights in the UFC,” Covington said when asked about Chimaev being a potential title challenger. “You guys hype these guys up real quick but let’s not forget he was put down by the common cold.
“He was ready to retire off the common cold. That’s a 99.9 percent survival rate to beat the common cold and C*mshot Chimaev was ready to give it up and retire. He doesn’t want to fight me. He’s got a way less chance than 99.9 percent chance against me.”
Covington, of course, is referring to Chimaev’s past issues with COVID-19 that kept him out for virtually a year. He even announced his retirement at one point before having a change of heart soon after.
Covington Will Face Who The People Want Him To Face
If it’s not Chimaev, could it be Edwards then? Or Jorge Masvidal? Gilbert Burns? Stephen Thompson?
Covington doesn’t have any names in mind and instead, will let the people as well as the UFC decide who he should have his first title defense against.
“As the people’s champion, I do what the people want and what the UFC wants,” Covington added. “Whoever the biggest fight is, that’s the fight I want. But I’ll leave that in the hands of the people and the UFC, who they want me to fight next.”
With the UFC as well as fans high on Chimaev, a meeting with Covington may not be too far away. Regardless of whether Covington comes out on top this weekend.
You can watch his full media day scrum below:
