Colby Covington is giving respect to Islam Makhachev after capturing the UFC welterweight title.
Makhachev became a two-division champ with a lopsided decision win over Jack Della Maddalena in the main
event of UFC 322 this past Saturday. “Chaos” was asked about the new champion, and his performance prior to a poker event this week.
“No, I didn’t see it coming,” Covington told The Schmo. “I thought [Della Maddalena] was the bigger guy and he would be able to overpower Makhachev, but hats off to him. He implemented his game plan and was really just able to control the fight the whole time.”
Covington has been out for almost a year since his stoppage loss to Joaquin Buckley at UFC Tampa this past December. The 37-year-old has lost two straight, and three of his past four bouts. Covington says he hopes to compete at UFC White House in June, but would also love to compete in January or February.
As far as his thoughts on Makhachev and how to beat him, Covington lays out the best strategy in his eyes, and also reveals who he believes could be the toughest matchup for the new 170-pound titleholder.
“You’re going to have to stuff his takedowns and make him work like Volkanovski did in that first fight,” Covington explained. “He just stuffed the takedowns and brawled with him.
“I think Topuria is the perfect fight for him. I think that fight needs to happen. Topuria has a low center of gravity, so he’s going to be very hard to take down, and when he’s not taking him down, he’s going to be punching him with all he’s got. So I’m hoping the UFC makes that fight next. … I mean, it’s tough. I don’t want to see Ilia go all the way to [170]. It’s tough, he’s going to be giving up such a size advantage, but we’ll see. I think 155 makes the most sense.”
