Aljamain Sterling doubts Colby Covington would face Khamzat Chimaev: “It’s a tough fight for him”
Aljamain Sterling played matchmaker after last week’s UFC 279. Khamzat Chimaev earned a dominant victory over Kevin Holland at UFC 279. Many fans and pundits are demanding to now see a battle between two top-ranked welterweights being ‘Borz’ Chimaev and Colby Covington. The UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling discussed this topic on his show and doubted the bout will happen.
The undisputed titleholder Sterling explained why we likely will not see ‘Borz’ vs ‘Chaos:’
“It seems like [Covington] just wants to take the top-name guys – and he’s smart … Why is he going to take on a young killer like Khamzat? It’s a tough fight for him stylistically because it’s a bigger wrestler, and even though Colby is a really good wrestler, he’s fighting almost a mirror image of himself – except the guy with really good submission skills.” [Transcript from MMA Junkie]
‘Funk Master’ says Covington, an established name, likely would not accept the fight and take the risk, allowing someone to build their name off of him. The UFC champion then added that Chimaev likely would face another up-and-coming fighter in the welterweight division such as Belal Muhammad or Sean Brady. The US-born champion continued:
“When I look through the rankings, I see a guy like Belal Muhammad who may not be the strongest grappler, but he’s a strong-built dude who uses a grinding style to press you against the cage to neutralize your position, beat you up with knees, and if he can get the submission, he’ll get the submission. He’s a strong, shredded dude. Then you’ve got Sean Brady – more or less the same thing, but except he’s more of a (Brazilian jiu-jitsu) specialist, in my personal opinion.”
Aljamain Sterling, Colby Covington, and Khamzat Chimaev
In late 2021, the ‘Chaos’ Covington commented on facing the undefeated Russian striker Khamzat Chimaev. Speaking to Submission Radio, he said, “Talk is cheap. Everyone is running their mouth these days, but I don’t see anybody actually doing something about it. [Chimaev] can say all these things and try and hype himself up and build himself up … He’s a joke.” [Transcript from MMA Sucka]
Colby Covington is a former welterweight title challenger who has notable wins over fighters such as Jorge Masvidal, Tyron Woodley, Robbie Lawler, and Rafael dos Anjos. The top-ranked welterweight Khamzat Chimaev has an unblemished MMA career sporting a perfect 12-0 with wins over Gilbert Burns, Kevin Holland, among others.
The UFC bantamweight champion ‘Funk Master’ Aljamain Sterling is on an impressive seven-fight undefeated streak. Along the way, he defeated fighters such as Petr Yan, Cory Sandhagen, Pedro Munhoz, and others. He will be looking to defend his world title at UFC 280 on October, 22, against the former titleholder TJ Dillashaw.
UFC champion Aljamain Sterling offered more thoughts and a lengthier breakdown on his YouTube Channel below:
