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Colby Covington has put forth his take on why he should receive a title shot against undisputed UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya next.
Over the past few months, ‘Chaos’ has consistently maintained that he’d be open to moving up from the welterweight (170 lbs) division to the middleweight (185 lbs) division to fight Adesanya.
As a former interim UFC welterweight champion, Covington has competed twice for the undisputed welterweight title. The 34-year-old came up short on both occasions, losing to reigning welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in 2019 and 2021.
Nevertheless, Covington is adamant he’s more than capable of dethroning middleweight kingpin Adesanya. During his appearance on the Full Send Podcast, ‘Chaos’ was asked about a potential fight against Adesanya. Covington responded by saying:
“I think it’s a possibility. He doesn’t have a fight lined up yet. Like, they’re talking about someone. But that guy; he’s a nobody. He’s not original. I mean, the guy can’t, you know, draw flies to sh**. So, if they wanna put the biggest money business fight the UFC can put together, it’s Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington versus Israel Adesanya.”
Watch the Full Send Podcast episode featuring Colby Covington in the video below:
Israel Adesanya on Colby Covington demanding a UFC middleweight title shot
In an interview with TMZ Sports a few weeks ago, Israel Adesanya addressed Colby Covington’s demands for a shot at his UFC middleweight title.
Adesanya suggested that ‘Chaos’ ought to fight middleweight contenders and prove his mettle in the weight class before he receives a title shot. ‘The Last Stylebender’ said:
"Yeah, I say just, you know, fight someone else. You can't just come straight for the champ. Who the f**k are you? Yeah, I'm like, 'Are you dumb?' Yeah, call someone else out. Call someone else out."
Adesanya talks about Jon Jones and more:
Similarly, UFC president Dana White shut down talks of Covington possibly fighting 'Izzy' for the 185 lb belt next. The UFC boss pointed out that Covington can’t go from losing twice to the champion in his own weight class to directly fighting the champion in a higher weight class.
Nevertheless, White indicated that if Covington were to beat top-tier middleweight contenders such as Robert Whittaker, he’d consider granting him a title shot against Adesanya.
Covington, for his part, continues to lobby for a fight against Adesanya at middleweight. 'Chaos' has also called out UFC lightweight (155 lbs) star and former training partner Dustin Poirier. The consensus is that if a potential Covington-Poirier grudge match materializes, it’ll likely take place at welterweight.
Meanwhile, Adesanya had previously hinted that he’d like to defend his title against Jared Cannonier in June. Presently, neither Covington's nor Adesanya’s next fights have been officially confirmed.
