Outside Source
Colby Covington is intrigued by the options that might accompany a move up in weight.
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The former interim welterweight champion fought for the first time in a year at UFC Tampa, where he lost to Joaquin Buckley via third-round doctor stoppage in the evening’s main event on Dec. 14. In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Covington discussed his options going forward, which included moving up or down in weight.
“I don’t see myself ever going to 155, even though I know 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,” Covington said.
“But [185]? Honestly, [185] is intriguing. I think it would be kind of cool to go up there with a narrative of, ‘Oh, this guy is a small ’70, he’s going to go up to ’85 and take on an even bigger challenge.’ There is a possibility. I’m always looking for the biggest and best fights – it doesn’t matter. Any weight class.”
If he does move up, Covington believes he’d have an advantage over some of the larger opponents at middleweight.
“I know those guys are a lot slower. That’s why guys that leave welterweight and they go to middleweight have so much success,” he said. “Those guys like [Robert] Whittaker, who became champion, a guy like Sean Strickland, who became a champion. They leave welterweight where these guys are fast, they have good cardio. These are the best athletes on the planet in this weight class. So they go up and they have so much success at middleweight because the middleweights are unathletic. They’re slow.
“So there is something to be said with that, what type of training you would do. I definitely want to put on some muscle, but I also want to be efficient with the speed and making sure I’m really quick twitch, ready to pounce on these guys.”
Covington has lost three of his last four fights in UFC competition. The outspoken MMA Masters product has had three title shots at 170 pounds, and ultimately, he’s looking for the biggest matchups possible going forward. That means he won’t rule out remaining in his current weight class and potentially welcoming some new names to the division.
“…I only want the premier in biggest and best fights, so whoever that is, I don’t know, I’m going to let [UFC chief business officer] Hunter Campbell decide that. … There’s a couple of guys out there. Paddy Pimblett’s always an option, he’s a big name and he’s been running his mouth about me, so I’d like to settle that. Michael Chandler’s always a possibility, he’s ran his mouth.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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