Colby Covington Mocks Khamzat Chimaev After Gilbert Burns Takedown - “That Was Hilarious!”

Unlike his UFC run, which saw him knocking on the champion’s door multiple times only to come up short, the “King of Miami” is reigning supreme over at RAF.

Following his recent title defense at RAF 13, the champ revealed the only name on his mind. It wasn't Khamzat Chimaev, although Covington had plenty to say about the former UFC title challenger after his recent outing against Gilbert Burns. From questioning Chimaev’s cardio to laughing off the fact that Burns managed to take him down, Covington delivered a vintage "Chaos" rant before explaining why Kamaru Usman would still be the tougher opponent.

Colby Covington Laughs Off Khamzat Chimaev’s Wrestling 

After defending his RAF Cruiserweight Crossover title against Belal Muhammad, Covington already has a name for his next adventure, firmly setting sights on his former UFC rival Usman for a trilogy. For a while, Chimaev was poised for a super grappling contest with “Chaos,” even the Chechen leaking a potential discussed matchup between the two in Abu Dhabi. 

Well, Covington isn’t exactly entertaining the idea. If it were up to him, the 38-year-old would choose to settle his scores with “The Nigerian Nightmare,” who denied him the UFC gold twice in the UFC. 

Speaking to Full Mount MMA recently, Covington was asked again who he wants to defend his title against next. His answer was simple, “Probably (Kamaru) Usman.” Not long after, Covington explained why he has the 39-year-old Usman above Chimaev on his list.

“I think Chimaev, he doesn’t have cardio. He got taken down by Gilbert Burns over the weekend, a jiu-jitsu specialist. That guy doesn’t even know how to wrestle. So, that was hilarious,” he said with a smirk.

Covington on Chimaev Continued

The math is simple for Covington. Chimaev beat “Durinho” via technical fall, while Burns was previously defeated by Muhammad, who Covington himself beat 10-0 at RAF 13 in Miami. If a matchup with Chimaev does happen, Covington reiterated that he would want it contested at a reasonable weight.

“He got taken down, Belal Muhammad smoked Gilbert, you know, he took him down with ease and look what I did to Belal, the guy couldn’t even score a point on me. He couldn’t even touch my legs, so I think Usman would be a tougher match; he’s more of a traditional wrestler but Chimaev would just be a bigger guy. With Chimaev, we’d have to do it at a weight that makes sense,” he added.

Covington then hyped himself up while teasing how he believes a bout with “Borz” would play out - “I will break him on that mat. He doesn’t have the cardio, the drive that I have and I’m the best crossover wrestler on the planet right now. No one’s going to stop me at RAF.”

Covington Questions Jon Jones’ Influence as he Urges Gable Steveson to Return to Roots

While much of the MMA community has been dissecting how Sean Sharaf  derailed the Gable Steveson hype train at UFC 331, Covington was looking beyond the 26-year-old’s brutal defeat. For him, the bigger question was the influence of the man standing in Steveson’s corner.

Jon Jones took Steveson under his wing, helping him prepare for the biggest test of his young MMA career. But after Steveson was stopped by Sharaf in less than 20 seconds, Covington questioned whether “Bones” is the right person to have guiding him.

“He’s an Olympic champion wrestler, he’s not even engaging in any type of wrestling. Dude you got to like have a bigger IQ. But it makes sense, his IQ is not that good. He’s hanging out with one of the most low IQ people on the planet, Jon Jones. So, he needs to get rid of that bad energy with Jon. He’s a terrible person, he doesn’t care about Gable. All he cares about is the money he’s going to make him,” Covington said.

Although it was a brutal dig at the “GOAT,” underneath the slander on Jones was an actual critique of Steveson’s approach. The former welterweight contender believes the former Olympic champion is moving too far away from the skill that made him such a dangerous prospect in the first place.

“I think Gable needs to get back to what makes him good and great, that’s his wrestling. Stop trying to go out there and showoff to the crowd and do striking. Do the striking after you’ve taken him down. Don’t forget who you’re, you’re not a boxer, you’re not a striker. You’re a wrestler. Let’s keep the wrestling game up and mix it up. It’s mixed martial arts for a reason.”

According to Covington, the answer isn't to abandon striking altogether. It is about building everything around Steveson’s greatest weapon instead of trying to turn an Olympic wrestler into something he isn't.

However, the criticism ultimately came back to Jones. Covington isn't convinced the former two-division champion's influence is helping Steveson develop in the right direction - “I don’t know what Jon is telling him, but I don’t think it's very good coaching.”