Former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington says there is no need for championship belts now to create massive fights.
Covington, 32, came up short of winning the UFC welterweight title, when he challenged Kamaru Usman in the main event of UFC 245 last December.
Looking to bounce back from the fifth-round technical knockout loss, ‘Chaos’ wants to fight his former teammate Jorge Masvidal in a ‘friends-turned-enemies’ showdown.
The welterweight stars are former training partners at the Coconut Creek, Florida-based gym, American Top Team but their relationship turned sour after the UFC considered Masvidal as a replacement for the scrapped UFC 244 fight between Covington and Usman.
“It would definitely be the friends-turned-enemies angle with ‘Journeyman,’ ‘Street Judas,’ Jorge Masvidal. Jorge can’t read, he can’t write, he can’t spell and he definitely can’t fight,” he said.
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Biggest Fight
Even without a world title on the line, Covington is confident the welterweight fight with Masvidal would be a huge success for the UFC, saying “the belt has no relevance to negotiations.”
“Let’s be honest guys, belts don’t mean anything anymore. “The belts mean nothing. I mean, the biggest fights that can be made, they’re not with belts anymore,” he told Submission Radio in a recent interview.
“Those aren’t the big fights. Look at me and Jorge Masvidal. There’s no belt. There’s just a real beef, and that’s the biggest fight that can be made.”
“And for Jon, bigger fights are at heavyweight or maybe with Adesanya. That could be his biggest fight.”
“So, there’s really no belts that are needed anymore these days for negotiating and for showing your worth and your drawing power.”
Colby Covington reveals gym conflicts leading to exit: 'Jorge would come scream from the other side of the cage' | https://t.co/XOf2PgjJDD pic.twitter.com/oR7qzBtsqq
— TheMacLife (@Maclifeofficial) June 3, 2020
Accepted
However, the UFC is looking to book Covington against Tyron Woodley for his next bout, with the former champion hoping ‘Chaos’ would not turn down the fight this time.
“That was the first thing they [UFC] did. They wanted to see if I was alright then they offered me the fight against Colby,” Woodley said.
“I told Malki [Kawa] to make sure you tell them today, yes. Don’t wait until tomorrow, tell them today yes. I got a contusion I have to deal and I can’t fight anyway for 45-60 days because of the cut.”
“I’ve been icing six, seven times a day, ibuprofen, so I’ve been doing the right stuff.”
“So, they have offered me Colby and I once again have accepted and we will see what happen.”
Morning Report: Colby Covington comments on Tyron Woodley’s loss: ‘Just like I told you guys, he’s washed up’ (@jedkmeshew) https://t.co/WGlgMqPd20 pic.twitter.com/yKE08kq6uI
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) June 3, 2020
(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Colby Covington)