Colby Covington Says He Will Halt Khamzat Chimaev's Hype

Getty Colby Covington punches Kamaru Usman at UFC 268 in November 2021.

Top-ranked contender Colby Covington promises to change the trajectory of a rising star’s career should they fight in the UFC.

Covington last stepped inside the Octagon when he challenged for the welterweight belt at UFC 268 in November 2021. It was his second time fighting the 170-pound champion, Kamaru Usman, and although Covington had his moments during the match, he ultimately fell short to “The Nigerian Nightmare” once again.

Usman retained his belt via unanimous decision.

Although “Chaos” has suffered two defeats to Usman, his stock remains very high in the welterweight division as he is still the No. 1 ranked contender.

So, who is next for Covington? Well, if it’s rising contender Khamzat Chimaev, Covington plans to derail the hype train. The two combatants have both expressed interest in fighting each other and they also have a history of taking shots at each other online and through the media.

GettyKhamzat Chimaev & Colby Covington

Chaos recently spoke with Submission Radio about Chimaev, questioning if it would be legal for a governing body to sanction a fight between them.

“I don’t think they can sanction that fight legally yet,” Covington said. “I think that there’s such a discrepancy in the rankings. I mean, the guy hasn’t even beat anybody in the top 10 yet. I’ve been in the top 10 for five years now, beating champion after champion. So, I don’t even know if a commission would allow this fight to go through.”

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Covington Said He Would End Chimaev’s Hype, Compares Borz to Jorge Masvidal

GettyKhamzat Chimaev & Colby Covington

However, if Borz and Chaos do come to blows, Covington believes he’ll dominate the Russian-born fighter. He said that the hype surrounding Chimaev is much like the hype that followed Masvidal entering into 2020 after he won the “BMF” title at UFC 244 in November 2019.

“But this fight, the only way it would look would be just complete domination,” Chaos said. “Colby Covington Incorporated just going out there, ending all that hype.

“That same type of hype that all the click-bait journalists, all the MMA media out there put on Street Judas Masvidal. That same hype. They hype him up, they can’t stop talking about him. Everything’s about this, about this kid, about this hype.

“And then boom, it gets halted. So, it would get halted in a very violent way. You don’t want to hurt a kid’s career before he even gets started. So, you send him up here, he’s never going to be the same person again.”

List to the Submission Radio clip below: