UFC welterweight Colby Covington is coming off a tough loss at UFC Tampa, and that may have him pondering some changes.
Specifically a 15-pound change.
“Honestly, 185 is intriguing. I think it would be kind of cool to go up there with the narrative like, ‘Oh, this guy’s a small 170. He’s going to go up to 185 and take on an even bigger challenge.’ So there is a possibility,” Covington told Submission Radio.
“I’m always looking for the biggest and best fights. So we’ll see.”
Covington (17-5) hasn’t been the most active welterweight in the past few years. Ever since losing his first title challenge against then-champ Kamaru Usman he’s only fought once per year. He’s gone 2-3 since 2020 including a second title challenge against Leon Edwards which he lost.
So now he’s looking at middleweight and targeting a former champion.
“Guys like Whittaker became champion, a guy like Sean Strickland became a champion. They leave welterweight where these guys are fast. They’ve got good cardio. These are the best athletes on the planet in this weight class. So they go up and they have so much success at middleweight because the middleweights are un-athletic. They’re slow. So there is something to be said with that,” he said.
He said he wants a bout with “cardio fighter” Strickland.
“Sean Strickland fights, always interesting. He’s had his things to say about me in the past, I don’t think he’s anything special. He’s got a jab, he’s got a front kick. But besides that, you shut those those weapons down and he’s very limited. He’s a cardio fighter. He’s just a cardio kickboxer, essentially,” Covington said.
“So I don’t think I don’t see any threats out of Sean Strickland. It’s an entertaining fight that I might entertain in the future.”
