It seems that a welterweight clash between Colby Covington and Khamzat Chimaev is inevitable. Khamzat’s coach Andreas Michael told The MMA Hour that Colby represents the “next step up” for his star pupil, who recently dispatched elite grappler Gilbert Burns via decision at UFC 273. Colby’s high-pressure wrestling has placed him within grabbing distance of the welterweight title twice, with Colby losing to Kamaru Usman both times.
Khamzat’s stated plan from the beginning has been to capture a UFC title, and a fight against a perennial contender in Colby Covington would represent a major step – if not the final one – towards that goal.
Khamzat Coach: Colby is “The Next Step Up”
“I would like to see him fight Colby. Colby would be a good fight. We’re after fighting the best, and Colby’s the next step up, and we keep on going. We should fight the best, and if we’re not good enough to be there, then we shouldn’t be there. That’s how I think. Because right now it doesn’t get easier.
It just gets tougher, and if you can’t handle these guys that [UFC welterweight champion Kamaru] Usman has handled, then we’re gonna have a problem. And he can handle them, and he will handle them, and he will win.”
Khamzat initially made a name for himself in 2020 by fighting with minimal time in between bouts. He fought twice in ten days following his UFC debut. Michael is hoping that Khamzat will give himself time to recover following a gruelling three rounds against Gilbert Burns.
“This is where I have to use my experience now and hold him back, because fights like that take a little bit of time for the body to recover. I would like him to fight maybe in September, October, somewhere there. If he listens to me.”
With Colby Covington riding high on a victory over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272 – albeit one soured by a “brain injury” and fractured tooth sustained when Masvidal jumped him in Miami earlier this month – a Khamzat fight in the final quarter of the year may well be likely for “Chaos” Covington. Taking out a major name is the goal for Khamzat’s team this year.
“I just hope we take steps forward. People are talking about other fights and for me, if I could choose, I’m not interested in any other fight. I want steps forward, I don’t want steps back. I don’t want anyone building their name on our name. I want us to build our name on other guys’ names if you understand what I mean.
At the end of the day I hope that we get Colby and then with God’s help we win that fight then you say we get the winner of Usman vs. Leon.” Do you want to see Khamzat vs Colby? Let us know in the comments.
