Colby Covington claims American wrestling is much better than Dagestani wrestling, discredits the Dagestani takeover in MMA
Colby Covington recently weighed in on the influx of Dagestani wrestling in MMA and how it compares to American wrestling.
During an interview with MyMMANews, Covington spoke about Dagestani wrestling and why he believes it has been effective in the UFC. He mentioned that the reason Dagestani wrestlers like Khabib Nurmagomedov and reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev have had success is because they haven't been matched up with high-level American wrestlers:
"It's been right time, right place. They've been able to fight guys that didn't have wrestling backgrounds, you know. If they fought a guy that was a USA level wrestler like Olympic level wrestler, they're gonna get smoked, it's not even gonna be competitive." [24:11 - 24:21]
'Chaos' added that American wrestling is far superior and it would be very noticeable should a Dagestani wrestler fight a high level American. He mentioned that Dagestani wrestlers have only been able to choose the matchup that best compliments their style, saying:
"American wrestling is much better, much more revolutionizing. Just a better style of wrestling that works in the UFC. You know, these guys have just been able to capitalize. Right time, right place, with the right matchups." [24:23 - 24:36]
Check out the full interview below:
It would be interesting to see how Covington would fare against a high-level Dagestani wrestler. Perhaps if Makhachev moved up to welterweight and fought 'Chaos', fans would get that answer.
Colby Covington claims Leon Edwards will be stripped of his UFC welterweight title if he refuses to fight him
Colby Covington blasted Leon Edwards for saying that he would refuse to fight him and warned the welterweight champion of possible ramifications if he did.
Dana White announced during the #UFC286 post-fight press conference that Colby Covington will get a title shot next against Leon Edwards 👀
WHAT A MATCHUP 🔥 https://t.co/JHAIHZvd5z
During an interview with MMAFighting, 'Chaos' addressed the welteweight title situation and opened up on how he earned the next title shot despite not being active in over a year. He mentioned that he is a draw in the division and claimed that Edwards could be stripped of his title if he turns down a fight with him:
"He gets stripped, he gets stripped of the title. He will get stripped. He's not the draw in this division...For Leon to sit there and act like he's Conor McGregor. You're not Conor McGregor, bro. You don't get to call the shots, dude, like, you're a nobody." [20:43 - 21:21]
Watch the interview with Colby Covington below: