Colby Covington talks wanting "all hype" Shavkat Rakhmonov fight before accepting Joaquin Buckley clash at UFC Tampa: "He's a bum"
Colby Covington's trash talk is firing on all cylinders ahead of his UFC Tampa fight with Joaquin Buckley. 'Chaos' spoke to MMA Junkie during his fight week media appearances, disclosing his reasoning for initially wanting to face Shavkat Rakhmonov before settling on the bout with 'New Mansa.'
As Covington sees it, he needs to beat a high-profile fighter, and in such a convincing manner that it will silence his detractors. His previous outing was widely panned, as 'Chaos' was easily outstruck and even outwrestled by Leon Edwards in a welterweight title fight.
Covington, though, maintains that he is the best welterweight in the world, despite having never been the division's undisputed champion. He said:
"I wanted to fight Shavkat. That was the fight I wanted. I think he's all hype. He hasn't fought anybody at my level, an elite fighter in a five-round fight. So I was excited to fight Shavkat, but the UFC already had other plans. They said, 'Hey, we're going to do the other fight with the cuck, Ian Garry.' So, they wanted to do that fight."
Buckley, though, isn't a fighter that Covington holds in high regard despite the former's stunning five-fight win streak.
"But they were like, 'Okay, we need to fill this main event with Joaquin Buckley in Tampa. He's not a star, he's a bum. He's a nobody. We need somebody to sell this show. Can you be a company man, come do it?' I said, 'Absolutely, Hunter Campbell. Whatever you need.' I'm a company man. I love this company."
Check out Colby Covington's comments below (1:18):
Now, Covington will look to derail Buckley's momentum and redirect course with his own career, which is currently at its lowest point.
Colby Covington's UFC career has been scrutinized
Colby Covington has been in the UFC since 2014, however, of the 12 fighters he's beaten in the promotion, only two are still in the UFC, and none are ranked at welterweight. His last two wins were over declining fighters in Jorge Masvidal, a career journeyman, and Tyron Woodley, who was on a two-fight losing streak.
Many have used Covington's frequent undeserved title shots and unwillingness to face younger, in-form foes on win streaks against him. Now, he will look to silence those doubters by taking on an in-form welterweight at the peak of his powers at UFC on ESPN 63.