Colby Covington eyeing Islam Makhachev for champion vs. champion clash

As announced earlier this week, Colby Covington will be getting another shot at the welterweight title next time out at UFC 296. The controversial athlete has been matched up against current champion Leon Edwards after months of doubt on both sides.

Covington vs Edwards UFC 296 Prediction 

“Chaos” expects a dominant performance in the UFC 296 headliner and overwhelm the Brit with his forward pressure, volume-striking, and wrestling-heavy game plan. Here’s what he had to say when speaking to James Lynch about his upcoming championship fight.

“My prediction is just complete domination. From second one to however long it goes, he’s not gonna have a glimmer of hope in this fight, you know? And I want to go out there and really set an example that he’s not gonna wanna fight me in a rematch… I’m gonna burn this dude. I’m gonna melt him inside there, he’s not gonna be able to keep up with the pace and pressure that I bring.”

If he is to capture gold on December 16, Covington has already laid out his plans for what’s next.

Colby Covington vs Islam Makhachev?

“There’s a lot of big fights after I become undisputed in December, you know? Conor [McGregor]’s always looming. I don’t think he’s gonna wanna fight when he sees the performance I put on. He doesn’t want to get embarrassed in front of the world,” claims Covington. “Islam Makhachev. He’s fighting in a little man’s weight class. He’s fighting little midgets and he’s barely beating midgets. Split decisions, split draws. It’s just pathetic.“

The 170-pound title challenger continued in his attack on Makhachev, insisting that fans would love to watch a meeting between the two.

“He’s been saying some things. He wants to come up to a real man’s division and face a real man in America’s champ. So, that might present itself as well. I think that’s a big super-fight and I think that’s a fight the fans want to see.”

“And we’re the same weight class. He probably weighs more to be honest… Not invincible? I trained the guy that knocked him out in the first round… I trained Adriano to throw that exact hook to knock him out like that and put him unconscious. He’s [got] a lot of holes in his game, he talks a big game. He’s trying to ride the coattails of Khabib [Nurmagomedov]’s success.”

Although it was almost eight years ago, Islam Makhachev suffered his sole defeat in the sport when he was caught with a check hook in his clash against Adriano Martins. Since then, the Russian has managed to win 12 straight, capture lightweight gold and make a single defense of the title.