After his lackluster performance against Leon Edwards at UFC 296, Colby Covington is in no position to make demands.
During a recent interview with Submission Radio, Covington insisted that “the ship had sailed” on his rumored fight with rising welterweight star Ian Machado Garry. ‘Chaos’ also called out Belal Muhammad, claiming the No. 2 ranked contender was “squatting on his ranking” and should not be granted a title fight after sitting out for the last year.
An especially ironic statement considering Covington sat on the sidelines for 21 months before returning for his third shot at the welterweight title.
Colby Covington says he wants "legacy" fights, and calls out Belal Muhammad and Charles Oliveira:
"I would like [to fight] Belal, he's talked a lot of smack… now he's squatting on his ranking guys, he should have to come out and fight… he doesn't deserve a title fight… pic.twitter.com/Ij71yZ1VkK
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) May 13, 2024
Covington’s latest attempt to dictate what happens at the top of the 170-pound division despite going 2-3 over the last five years did not sit well with Daniel Cormier. The UFC Hall of Famer offered his take on Covington’s statement, suggesting that the Clovis, California native know his role and shut his mouth.
“Colby Covington said that he feels like Belal Muhammad is sitting on his ranking and doesn’t deserve a title fight,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “Come on, Colby. Come on, brother. Colby can’t say or try to determine who gets a title fight right now because of the way he lost to Leon Edwards and the way he fought.
“It seems like he’s unwilling to fight Ian Garry. I think he should maybe step back and just not really say much at all until another fight comes his way. I don’t know what the hesitancy is to fighting Ian Garry for Colby Covington. I don’t know if he just doesn’t want to fight back in the rankings. But I think he needs to recognize that in this situation, that’s kind of what he’s gonna get right now… He didn’t fight well (against Edwards).”
If He’s Not Careful, Colby Covington Could End Up Fighting Shavkat Rakhmonov Instead of Ian Machado Garry
Putting their animosity aside, a fight between Colby Covington and Ian Machado Garry makes sense with ‘The Future’ sitting in the No. 7 spot in the rankings while ‘Chaos’ is three spots ahead at No. 4.
However, if Covington is insistent on fighting up the rankings rather than down, the only option for him at this point may be a fight with undefeated finisher Shavkat Rakhmonov.
“I will tell you this much if you keep saying no to Ian Garry you might end up with Shavkat Rakhmonov, which one do you choose? Because right now it’s going to be one of those guys. He needs to make a decision about what he wants to do as a fighter.” Cormier concluded.
Watch the full episode below:
