Colby Covington (17-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) is only a few weeks removed from his main event defeat at the hands of Joaquin Buckley (21-6 MMA, 11-4 UFC) on Dec. 14 from Amalie Arena in St. Petersburg, FL in UFC Tampa‘s main event. Despite “Chaos” having Chael Sonnen and Hulk Hogan flanked on either side of him, with Hogan’s Real American theme music ringing out on the public address system, Covington sustained a third-round TKO.
The fight doctor intervened in the final minute of round three after a cut affected Colby Covington’s vision. While nothing has been set in stone for his next fight, the possibility exists that he could find himself moving away from the welterweight division.
Although he’s toyed with the idea that he could move back down to the lightweight ranks, if his recent comments on Submission Radio are anything to go by, a fight featuring Covington at 155 probably will not be in the cards.
Colby Covington Considering a Move to Middleweight in the Future?
Over the weekend, Covington made an appearance on Australian MMA podcast Submission Radio, where he talked about dispelling the potential for a fight in the 155-lb division, referring to himself in the third-person.
“Colby’s thought about moving down to lightweight for many years,” Colby Covington began, “and Colby realized he doesn’t want to kill himself. He doesn’t want to be a weight bully. Islam [Makhachev], the Khabib [Nurmagomedovs] of the world, they’re lightweight bullies. They have such a weight advantage, 30, 40 pounds on fight night, but it’s just not healthy. It’s not sustainable, either.”
Covington then outlined the health risks weight cuts ahead of fight nights pose.
“You cut all that weight, [and] then you start having organ failure,” he continued. “I want to have a good quality of life. I think about [my] longevity and I think about my health 20, 30 years from now. I don’t see myself ever going to 155, even though I know [that] 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.”
Who Could Colby Covington Face in Potential Middleweight Debut?
When the topic of conversation shifts toward a possible adversary for Covington after a move to the 185-lb division, he’s already got a name in mind: Former UFC Middleweight Champion Sean Strickland.
Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC) initially took the 185-lb division’s strap in September of 2023 versus Israel Adesanya (24-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) during UFC 293’s main event in Sydney, New South Wales by way of unanimous decision after 25 minutes of action, but he surrendered the belt due to fourth-round rear-naked choke this past August in the UFC 305 main event vs. Dricus du Plessis (22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC).
“The Sean Strickland fight is always interesting,” Colby Covington continued. “He’s had 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 you shut those things down. He’s very limited. He’s just a cardio kickboxer, essentially.”
Dissecting a Potential Match Between Colby Covington and Sean Strickland
Should this contest at middleweight come to pass at some point, here’s how they stack up: Sean Strickland stands as the taller man at 6-foot-1, compared to the 5-foot-11 frame of Colby Covington. Strickland owns a four-inch reach advantage (76 inches to 72 inches) over Covington, as well as a half-inch leg reach advantage (41 1/2 inches to 41 inches even) over the one nicknamed “Chaos.”
Colby Covington has hit a snag in the famed UFC Octagon of late, as although he currently sports a 3-2 record over the course of his last five fights, he’s dropped two fights in succession, including a unanimous decision defeat to Leon Edwards (22-4, 1 NC MMA, 14-3, 1 NC UFC) in December of 2023.
Across the way, Sean Strickland, a 35-fight veteran of MMA, has a mark of 4-1 in his last five fights. Most recently, he returned to the win column thanks to a split decision victory over Paulo Costa (14-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) on June 1 in UFC 302. Strickland returns to action on Feb. 8 vs. the aforementioned Dricus du Plessis.
Final Thoughts
As previously mentioned, nothing has been set in stone as far as Colby Covington’s next fight under the UFC promotional banner goes. This might happen, or it could be all for naught.
Stay tuned for any new developments.
