Colby Covington doubts Islam Makhachev is serious about fighting him.
Lightweight titleholder Makhachev (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) wants to chase dual-champion status if he gets past Charles Oliveira for a second time at UFC 294 later this month in Abu Dhabi.
Covington (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) challenges Leon Edwards for the welterweight strap in the UFC 296 headliner on Dec. 16 in Las Vegas, and Makhachev said he hopes Covington wins so he can fight him. Makhachev was responding to Covington’s callout, but “Chaos” thinks Makhachev is just looking for clout with the response.
“You know, he’s just saying that to get a headline,” Covington told Submission Radio. “He ain’t really going to come out here and fight. He’s another guy that he’s going to run his mouth, try and hype up a fight, but he’s never going to actually step up and do it. Khabib (Nurmagomedov) did the same thing. So, they know that American wrestling is the best. That Sambo sh*t don’t work. He would get worked like any day of the week in grappling or wrestling in America. He’s over there, you know, playing with sheep, doing his thing over there.
“But that stuff doesn’t work. And yeah, it’s worked on guys in the lightweight class when you can just muscle them around. These are little kids. These are little boys. And none of them wrestle anyway. So now you got a real f*cking American wrestler, raw American steel, the highest regard. He knows what would happen. He could keep saying that he wants to fight, but I think when pen comes to paper, his manager’s going to hide him from me.”
After dominating and submitting Oliveira to claim the 155-pound belt at UFC 280 in October 2022, Makhachev will look to beat him again. Meanwhile, former interim champ Covington looks to make good in his third attempt at undisputed gold when he faces Edwards.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 296.
