COCONUT CREEK, Fla. – Colby Covington’s focus is on Kamaru Usman and the UFC welterweight title, but his overall aspirations reach far beyond.
Covington (15-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC), the former interim 170-pound champion, believes he can conquer three weight classes inside the octagon. He said he’s capable of moving up or down from his current weight, and he sees middleweight king Robert Whittaker (20-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) and lightweight titleholder Khabib Nurmagomedov (27-0 MMA, 11-0 UFC) as winnable matchups for himself.
“I can go down to lightweight and I can go up to middleweight,” Covington told MMA Junkie on Thursday. “I’m looking to fight Whittaker, he’s a bum. He’s got no wrestling, he’s got no heart, no cardio. Then Khabib? Come on. The sheep lover? He’s got nothing for me. The guy is over is Russia playing with sheep. What’s he going to do to raw American steel and twisted sex appeal? I got a lot of things in the plan.”
Although Covington already views himself as a UFC champion because he was not beaten, but rather stripped, of his interim belt, the matchup with Usman would give him the opportunity to get the undisputed distinction.
Covington hopes the fight will happen at UFC 245 in New York on Nov. 2, and if he wins he will be looking to add more pieces of gold to his mantel.
“I want to be champ-champ-champ,” Covington said. “I’m already breaking all the history books. Last fight (I had the) most significant strikes ever thrown, First Family front row. I want to be a champ-champ-champ.”
For more from Covington, watch the video above.
