Poirier Massive Betting Underdog Against Covington

Shortly after handling his business against 170-pound rival Jorge Masvidal, a unanimous decision victory at UFC 272 last weekend in Las Vegas, No. 1-ranked welterweight contender Colby Covington called for a fight against Dustin Poirier, a former featherweight who now competes in the 155-pound weight class.

Probably safer than waiting around for Khamzat Chimaev.

Not surprisingly, Covington (17-3) opened as the -600 betting favorite, according to BetOnline.ag, against +425 for Poirier. Probably because “Chaos” is one of the top wrestlers in the sport and would likely rag doll “The Diamond” from pillar to post. It’s hard to imagine UFC rubber stamping that showdown when this fight still exists, but stranger things have happened.

Unless the promotion believes this drama is enough to sell a pay-per-view (PPV) card.

“Let’s do it, bro,” Covington, 34, said at the UFC 272 post-fight press conference. “He said it’s on sight. Let’s do it. Stop talking reckless in the media. If I talk to the media and say things, I come out here and back it up. I’m a man of my word. So we can do it anywhere. We don’t have to do it in the UFC Octagon. If he wants to do it in a park, or in a street, my one stipulation is that you let the world watch it and enjoy themselves.”

The 33 year-old Poirier (28-7) is a just few months removed from his submission loss to lightweight champion Charles Oliveira in the UFC 269 main event and is expected to make his Octagon return at some point later this year.