Colby Covington sees himself not only competing at 185 pounds, but beating the elite of the division.
In an interview with Submission Radio, the longtime welterweight discussed his next move, which could include a jump up in weight and a clash with former middleweight champion Sean Strickland. Covington explained why he prefers a move to middleweight rather than a drop to lightweight, and named Strickland as a beatable opponent when asked who he’d like to face in that division.
“The Sean Strickland fight is always interesting,” Covington said. “He’s had his his things to say about me in the past. I don’t think he’s anything special. He’s got a jab, he’s got a front kick, but besides that you shut those those weapons down and he’s very limited. He’s a cardio fighter. He’s just a cardio kickboxer, essentially. I don’t see any threats out of Sean Strickland and it’s an entertaining fight that I might entertain in the future. We’ll see.”
Strickland’s dance card is currently full as he has a chance to regain the middleweight belt when he rematches Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312 on Feb. 8 in Sydney.
It’s not just a fight with Strickland that has Covington considering a division change. “Chaos” has fought a who’s who of notable welterweights during his UFC run, capturing an interim title in 2018 and thrice challenging for undisputed gold. Even though he’d be smaller than the majority of the promotion’s middleweights, Covington believes he can follow in the footsteps of Strickland and Robert Whittaker, two former 170ers who became champions at 185 pounds.
“Honestly, ‘85 is intriguing,” Covington said. “I think it would be kind of cool to go up there with the narrative like, ‘Oh, this guy’s a small ‘70. He’s going to go up to ‘85 and take on an even bigger challenge.’ So there is a possibility. I’m always looking for the biggest and best fights, so we’ll see. I’m not sure, we’ll see what’s on the table, who’s hot at the time. I’m just always looking for the biggest and best fights. So it doesn’t matter. Any weight class.”
“I know those guys are a lot slower,” Covington added. “That’s why guys that leave welterweight and they go to middleweight have so much success. Those guys like Whittaker, who became champion, a guy like Sean Strickland, who became a champion. They leave this welterweight where these guys are fast, they have good cardio. These are the best athletes on the planet in this weight class. So they go up and they have so much success at middleweight because the middleweights are unathletic. They’re slow. So there is something to be said with that, what type of training you would do. I definitely want to put on some muscle, but I also want to be efficient with the speed and making sure I’m really quick twitch, ready to pounce on these guys.”
Should Covington stay put in his division, it’s unclear who is left for him to fight, though he’s open to welcoming 155-pound veterans Paddy Pimblett and Michael Chandler to the weight class.
“There’s a couple of fun options,” Covington said. “I don’t want to make any callouts. I want the UFC and fans to decide who they want me to go next. I think there’s some intriguing fights out there. I just want the biggest and best fights. Everybody knows I’m the marquee. That fight that I showed up on two weeks’ notice with no training camp, look at what it ends up being. It ends up being the highest gate in North American history for a Fight Night, so that’s what happens when Colby Covington is on the marquee and he shows up. He’s the biggest star in the division. Colby Covington is the premier for the welterweight division.
“So I only want the premier in biggest and best fights, so whoever that is, I don’t know, I’m going to let Hunter Campbell decide that. ... There’s a couple of guys out there. Paddy Pimblett’s always an option, he’s a big name and he’s been running his mouth about me, so I’d like to settle that. Michael Chandler’s always a possibility, he’s ran his mouth.”
