UFC: Colby Covington does not think Khabib Nurmagomedov is 'impressive', says his dominance won't translate at 170 pounds

Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington (13-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) is on a five-fight winning streak. Covington is known not only for his accomplishments inside the octagon but also for his brash attitude outside and on the social media. After defeating former middleweight and welterweight title challenger Demain Maia via a dominating unanimous decision back in October, the American Top Team product immediately started his campaign for the welterweight belt. The promotion finally paid off as Covington would get his chance for the title, not against UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, but against former UFC lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos for the interim UFC welterweight title at UFC 225 on June 9.

Picking up online and sometimes physical fights against fellow UFC fighters from any division isn’t a new thing for Covington. He has picked up verbal fights against fighters like Tyron Woodley, Rafael Dos Anjos, Kamaru Usman, Mike Perry, Derek Brunson, Sam Alvey, Chase Sherman, Ben Saunders, Fabricio Werdum, analyst Kenny Florian and many others. This time he had some words for the newly crowned lightweight champion Khabib ‘The Eagle’ Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov has had troubles making the lightweight limit and has mentioned a possibility of moving up to welterweight in past. Now that in this era of super-fights and him finally becoming the champion, a door for a lot of opportunities for interesting matchups has opened up. Covington however thinks differently.

“I think it works for the little lightweight division, but that (expletive) doesn’t fly at welterweight,” Covington told MMAjunkie Radio. “You’ve got a real All-American wrestler, not some sambo dude, so if he comes up to welterweight, he’s going to get his head dunked and balls put on his forehead just like the rest of them.

“I don’t think he’s that impressive. He couldn’t even finish a real estate agent (reference to Al Iaquinta being a real estate agent). That’s (expletive) sad.”

“I watched the fight a couple of times,” he said. “(Khabib) just goes forward and looks for takedowns and pressure. He doesn’t have any striking power. He’s not a well-rounded fighter like myself. I can beat people on the feet; I can beat people on the ground. It doesn’t matter.

“Guys have a lot more to worry about when they’re fighting me than they do fighting Khabib. He’s just one-dimensional. I’m the most well-rounded fighter on the planet.”