Former UFC Interim Welterweight Champion Colby Covington is expected to fight UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman later this year.
Another opponent that Covington would like to fight is UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, whom Covington predicts would be an easy fighter to beat.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s an easy fight,” Covington said to Submission Radio (via Jed Meshew of MMA Fighting). “And he’s already been asking to fight GSP in between welterweight and lightweight, and I can make in between welterweight and lightweight cause I’m not a big welterweight. So, it’s gonna be more rewarding to smash two of Ali’s biggest clients and just leave him crying, dude. He’s already emotional. You saw how emotional he was at the last fight. So, taking down two of his clients and meal tickets is gonna be a sweet feeling.”
Nurmagomedov is currently serving a suspension for his role in the UFC 229 post-fight brawl and isn’t expected to return to action until later this year.
The UFC Lightweight Champion uses a lot of wrestling when fighting, but Covington says his wrestling game is far superior.
“Oh man, he would be my easiest challenge,” Covington said. “He’s small and he doesn’t even do what I do as good as I do it. He can’t wrestle as good as me, he’s never faced a high-level Division I All American, a kid who’s been wrestling his whole life. That Sambo sh*t, that sh*t’s weak, man. If wrestling were easy, it would be called Sambo. But it’s not, it’s called wrestling.”
If the bout between Covington and Nurmagomedov were to come together, it would mark Nurmagomedov’s welterweight division debut.
