"He needs to stay in his lane" - Colby Covington slams Ilia Topuria's welterweight dreams but also offers uncharacteristic praise
In his most recent tirade, Colby Covington targeted Ilia Topuria and issued a stern warning to the reigning featherweight champion. Despite his strong remarks, Covington also applauded Topuria for his recent performances in the octagon.
For context, earlier this month, welterweight contender Shavkat Rakhmonov took to his Instagram story and shared a humorous photo of himself attempting an armbar submission on someone on a beach. However, Rakhmonov substituted the individual with a picture of Topuria, making it a hilarious statement.
In his recent interview with Submission Radio, Covington was asked about Rakhmonov's remarks after it was reported that Topuria had called for a fight with the Kazakh. In response, 'Chaos' made fun of the Spaniard's stature by saying:
''I don't think it's smart, he's [Topuria] very short, he's only like 5'7, 5'8 maybe at most. So he needs to stay in his Lane.''
Covington went on to commend Topuria for his efforts against Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway but cautioned the 27-year-old to stick to his division.
''I get what he's doing though, he's a great fighter man, he's knocking people out left and right, he's beating two of the greatest featherweights in history. Let him talk his talk right now but he needs to stay in his lane, stay in his division. He's a 145 guy, he's not a 170 guy and if he comes to 170, let's see him go to 55 first. He's just talking right now, until you actually go up to 55, then you really shouldn't even be talking about 170.''
Check out Colby Covington's comments below (8:52):
As for their recent MMA outings, Covington failed to capture the welterweight title from the then-champion Leon Edwards after he was defeated via unanimous decision at UFC 296 last year.
Meanwhile, Topuria dispatched two of the greatest featherweights in UFC history as he secured knockout wins against Volkanovski and Holloway at UFC 298 and UFC 308, respectively.
Colby Covington talks about a potential interim title fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov
Shavkat Rakhmonov was set to headline UFC 310 in a title fight against Belal Muhammad, however, Muhammad pulled himself out of the contest after suffering a bone infection in his left foot.
Colby Covington volunteered for a potential interim title bout with the undefeated contender, who is now without an opponent. In his aforementioned interview with Submission Radio, Covington said:
''I offered, I told the UFC that I was willing to step up to the plate. I would love to save the show and put on a good show for the fans...So, I was excited. I wanted the fight and I asked for it but I think they have other plans.” [7:10]