Colby
Covington is intrigued by the options that might accompany a
move up in weight.
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The former interim welterweight champion fought for the first time
in a year at UFC
Tampa, where he lost to Joaquin
Buckley via third-round doctor stoppage in the evening’s main
event on Dec. 14. In a recent interview with Submission Radio,
Covington discussed his options going forward, which included
moving up or down in weight.
“I don’t see myself ever going to 155, even though I know I could
make it and I’d probably be way stronger than the guys on fight
night. I’d feel like a bully, and I’m not a bully. I got into MMA
because I didn’t like guys bullying me,” Covington said.
“But [185]? Honestly, [185] is intriguing. I think it would be kind
of cool to go up there with a narrative of, ‘Oh, this guy is a
small ’70, he’s going to go up to ’85 and take on an even bigger
challenge.’ There is a possibility. I’m always looking for the
biggest and best fights – it doesn’t matter. Any weight class.”
If he does move up, Covington believes he’d have an advantage over
some of the larger opponents at middleweight.
“I know those guys are a lot slower. That’s why guys that leave
welterweight and they go to middleweight have so much success,” he
said. “Those guys like [Robert] Whittaker, who became champion, a
guy like Sean
Strickland, who became a champion. They leave 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.”
Covington has lost three of his last four fights in UFC
competition. The outspoken MMA Masters product has had three title
shots at 170 pounds, and ultimately, he’s looking for the biggest
matchups possible going forward. That means he won’t rule out
remaining in his current weight class and potentially welcoming
some new names to the division.
“…I only want the premier in biggest and best fights, so whoever
that is, I don’t know, I’m going to let [UFC chief business
officer] 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.”