Henry Cejudo thinks Colby Covington's relentlessness makes him similar to Khabib Nurmagomedov
Henry Cejudo believes there are some similarities between Colby Covington and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
In a recent interview with Helen Yee Sports, ‘Triple C’ addressed multiple topics. They discussed Covington’s upcoming welterweight grudge match against Jorge Masvidal. The pair will fight at UFC 272 on March 5th.
The grudge match we've all been waiting for 💥
Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal will headline UFC 272 on March 5, UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell told @bokamotoESPN. Contracts have not been signed, but the bout is nearly finalized. https://t.co/n1FclaclwU
They also touched upon a potential future fight between Covington and Dustin Poirier. Both Masvidal and Poirier train at ATT (American Top Team) and are former training partners of Covington’s. Yee referenced Poirier’s recent statements whereby he asserted that he won’t fight Covington in the UFC and that they'd both go to jail if they fought.
Covington, who left ATT to join the MMA Masters gym in 2020, has taken several personal jibes at Poirier’s wife, Jolie Poirier, and their daughter Parker Noelle Poirier. Taking the above variables into consideration, Cejudo responded to Yee by stating:
“He [Poirier] doesn’t want to get with a Colby Covington either. The dude [Covington] just grinds. It’s all he does. He’s not gonna fight. He’s not gonna strike with you. He’s gonna stay on that leg, and he’s gonna continue to fatigue you out.”
‘Triple C’ furthermore alluded to Poirier’s third-round submission loss against Nurmagomedov at UFC 242 in September 2019. Cejudo claimed that Covington and Nurmagomedov are similar regarding how unrelenting they are in the octagon.
“With all due respect to Poirier – and I’ll go for him, too, in that one – there’s not a lot of difference between Khabib [Nurmagomedov] and Colby Covington, especially, like, in the top control, the relentlessness that they bring. So, if he [Poirier] could maintain it on his feet, he could beat him [Covington]. But, man, I hate to say it but Colby Covington is a favorite with both of them [Poirier and Masvidal],” said Cejudo.
Watch Henry Cejudo’s conversation with Helen Yee in the video below:
Colby Covington on why he doesn’t consider Khabib Nurmagomedov the GOAT
Speaking to MMA News’ James Lynch last year, Covington sounded off on those who hailed retired MMA icon Nurmagomedov as the MMA GOAT (Greatest Of All Time).
29-0 in MMA
13-0 in UFC
From Nashville to Fight Island, Khabib Nurmagomedov's unstoppable eight-year run through the UFC is officially at an end 🦅
The Eagle retires unmatched and undefeated.
We were lucky to be there for the journey 🙌
https://t.co/cKZGiUnS92
‘Chaos’ opined that Nurmagomedov primarily fought strikers rather than facing well-rounded fighters who could strike and grapple with him. Highlighting that ‘The Eagle’ took too many breaks in his fighting career, Covington added:
"I don't consider him the greatest of all time. I mean, he has a great resume, undefeated, retiring undefeated is a great mark. But definitely, he didn't challenge or he didn't defend that title enough times and you know, he didn't beat enough high-level names to really speak for his resume as the GOAT.”
Watch Covington speak about Nurmagomedov in the video below: