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Sean O’Malley has weighed in on a potential welterweight bout between Khamzat Chimaev and Colby Covington. Speaking to Helen Yee, O’Malley suggested that Covington is unlikely to accept a fight against Chimaev next.
The undefeated Chechen-born Swede is coming off a hard-fought win over Gilbert Burns, whom he bested via unanimous decision at UFC 273 on April 9th. Interestingly, Dana White had claimed that a win over Burns would earn 'Borz' a fight against the No. 1-ranked UFC welterweight Covington.
On that note, following his win at UFC 273, White revealed that Chimaev will likely face ‘Chaos’ next. However, Covington – who’s known to be incredibly vocal regarding his fellow welterweights – is yet to issue a statement regarding the thrilling Chimaev-Burns matchup.
Sean O’Malley insinuated that ‘Chaos’ might steer clear of Chimaev for the time being. O’Malley even jested that the UFC might rope in Leon Edwards, who’s expected to fight UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman next, to fight Chimaev.
‘Suga’ also proposed that Chimaev could fight Usman and Covington could face Burns next. O’Malley stated:
“I don’t know if Colby takes that [Khamzat Chimaev] fight. Has Colby said anything about the fight, or has he kind of been silent about it?” Yee replied by indicating that Covington is yet to address the Chimaev-Burns matchup. O’Malley then added, “I don’t know if that’s the fight we get next. I wonder if they’ll try to give Leon [Edwards] that fight; just keep scr**ing over Leon. I don’t know. I don’t think Colby versus Khamzat’s next… I don’t know if that’s next. Khamzat versus [Kamaru] Usman, that’s an interesting fight.”
Watch Sean O’Malley’s conversation with Helen Yee in the video below:
Colby Covington believes both Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns aren't on his level
Covington has been lobbying for a title shot against UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya as well as a welterweight bout against lightweight star Dustin Poirier. Neither fight has materialized as of yet.
Presently, Chimaev holds the No. 3 spot, Gilbert Burns stands at No. 4, and Covington is at No. 1 in the official UFC welterweight rankings. Leading up to the Chimaev-Burns fight at UFC 273, 'Chaos' spoke to James Lynch and chimed in with his opinion concerning the much-discussed fight.
Covington, who's coming off a dominant unanimous decision win over Jorge Masvidal, indicated that he’s willing to fight whoever the UFC puts in front of him. Lambasting both Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns, 'Chaos' said:
"That's an easy money paycheck. Both guys are not on my level. I am the pound-for-pound people's champ. Nobody is gonna stop me."
Watch the full interview with James Lynch below:
