"Does he need to sign a contract, break the contract, hurt a card?" - Chael Sonnen discusses Colby Covington's shot at 185 lbs title through example being set by Khamzat Chimaev
Khamzat Chimaev has teased a move to the middleweight division where many believe he will face Paulo Costa. MMA analyst Chael Sonnen believes that Chimaev will receive a title shot with a victory over Costa. He also questioned whether Colby Covington should follow the same path to middleweight title contention.
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Speaking on his podcast Beyond the Fight, Chael Sonnen discussed Khamzat Chimaev's potential move to middleweight. Sonnen questioned whether Chimaev is deserving of a potential middleweight title contender fight, using Colby Covington to drive home his point:
"Look at Colby Covington who can't even get discussed at 185 pounds... If Colby wants to be one win away from fighting for a belt at 185, does all he have to do is sign a fight at 170 and show up eight pounds overweight?"
Sonnen continued by breaking down how Covington can show that he is big enough to fight at 185 lbs. He added by stating whether 'Chaos' should take a picture of the scale or follow Chimaev by missing weight:
"Can Colby not just go take a pic and show you he's big enough? Does he need to sign a contract, break the contract, hurt a card to show you he's big enough?... Why would [Chimaev] be one win away at middleweight when other guys can't get that same deal?"
Watch Chael Sonnen's full comments on Khamzat Chimaev and Colby Covington below (starting at the 3:55 mark):
Khamzat Chimaev's middleweight move may be delayed
Following his weight miss at UFC 279, many speculated that Khamzat Chimaev's next fight would take place at middleweight. He already has an opponent ready in the division as Paulo Costa has been calling him out since their altercation at the UFC Performance Institute. However, Chimaev has now called out No.2-ranked welterweight Colby Covington.
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Prior to UFC 279, Chimaev accused Covington of avoiding a potential matchup with him. Speaking with former double champ and UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier, the No.3-ranked welterweight stated:
"Colby was like-- I don't know what he said. He's playing poker or some s**t. This guy disappeared. When I come here-- Before I come to talk, he was like I didn't fight somebody. Now, I smashed Gilbert now and everyone disappeared."
According to UFC President Dana White, Covington is ready to make his return to the octagon. A potential title contender fight against Chimaev could be his return matchup.
Check out Khamzat Chimaev talk about Colby Covington at 7:00 of the video below: