LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] didn’t have [autotag]Tyron Woodley[/autotag] at the top of his wish list, but now that the two are paired to meet, “Chaos” plans on using the fight to his advantage.
Covington (15-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) believes he can take out Woodley (19-5-1 MMA, 9-4-1 UFC) inside of five rounds in their Saturday headliner at UFC on ESPN+ 36 from the UFC Apex. After that, he’ll stay ready to take on Kamaru Usman or Gilbert Burns in their planned welterweight title fight later this year, or he’ll sign to face his former best friend and teammate, Jorge Masvidal.
“After I finish Woodley on Saturday night, I’m definitely going to look for one of two fights,” Covington told MMA Junkie on Wednesday. “I either want my rematch with ‘Marty Fakenewsman,’ and I’ll look to save the day if someone backs out of that fight and fight for the welterweight title, or I want my grudge match with ‘Street Judas’ Masvidal.”
First up, of course, is Woodley, and Covington certainly can’t look past “The Chosen One” if he plans on getting those other big fights. But the former interim welterweight champion is confident he’s in top form heading into the bout.
Covington left his longtime home at American Top Team earlier this year in favor of a solo mission he’s deemed “Colby Covington Inc.” However, he’s also enlisted the help of MMA Masters coaches Daniel Valverde and Cesar Carneiro, and he said the results have been palpable.
“It’s been the best transition I’ve ever made,” Covington said. “I’ve made the most leaps and bounds that I’ve ever made in my career because now I’ve got genuine coaches that truly care about me.
“I’m just being more strategic in my approach. In the past, I was reckless abandon with my cardio. I just wanted to go forward and put a high pace on guys. Now I’m being very smart and diligent in the way I approach my fight and how I approach guys in training, and just keeping my hands up has been the biggest thing. Being cocky before, keeping my hands down, taking unanswered shots that I didn’t need to take when I’m keeping my hands up.
“My angles. My timing. That’s the biggest thing I’ve worked on is just my timing. It’s completely different. It’s impeccable, and Saturday night, I’m going to put Tyron Woodley’s lights out.”
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Woodley is coming off back-to-back losses to Burns and Usman, but both were by decision. Woodley hasn’t been finished since a 2012 bout under the Strikeforce banner. So while it wasn’t the fight Covington initially wanted, he sees real value in a big win.
“I’ve got to move on, and I’ve got to keep proving to the UFC, proving to fans, proving to the world that I’m the best welterweight in the world,” Covington said. “That just means ‘next guy up,’ so Tyron Woodley, he’s a legend in the game. He’s a former champion. So I can add a former champion to my resume. I’ve already beaten multiple former champions, but here’s another one I can add to my resume.
“I do think we’ll see the best Tyron Woodley we’ve ever seen in his career, and that will just make it more impressive when I finish him. That will show how good I am and that I’m ready to get my belt back. I think he’s hungry, and he wants this. I definitely expect to see the best Tyron Woodley, but it’s still not going to be enough because I’m the best welterweight in the world.”
Usman, of course, might disagree, since he scored a fifth-round TKO over Covington in their epic clash last December. Of course, Covington believes referee Marc Goddard made several mistakes in the contest and still doesn’t truly accept the result.
He also doesn’t think Usman is in any hurry to step in the cage with him a second time.
“He’s going to look to avoid me the rest of his career,” Covington said. “I don’t blame him. He knows what’s coming and what’s going to happen the next time we fight. It will be me getting my hand raised and him waking up in a pool of blood.”
If he doesn’t get a title shot, a contest with Masvidal would certainly prove awfully marketable. The former friends are now bitter rivals, and the build-up to the contest would be intriguing.
Covington said he welcomes the chance to take the fight and took a shot at Masvidal’s planned rematch with Nate Diaz.
“He’s talking a big game,” Covington said of Masvidal. “I can’t believe the media’s not holding him accountable for all the words he said. He talked all this sh*t, and you know at American Top Team, you talk all this sh*t behind coaches, where he knows he’s being held back. He said all these things in the media. Where’s he at now? He’s running scared looking for fights with soy boy Nate Diaz, who’s way past his time and shouldn’t even be fighting anymore. The guy’s got CTE. The guy should not even be fighting anymore.
“Why is he looking for the easiest fights? Why is he not looking to fight the top contender in the division, a guy that he used to live with, that used to beat the sh*t out of him every day. He talked all that sh*t with his mouth. Why is he not walking the walk? Why is he nowhere to be heard of? He wrote all these checks with his mouth, but his ass ain’t ready to cash them. He knows he ain’t walking that walk. He talked all that big game, but now he’s nowhere to be seen because he knows daddy’s home.”
After relative silence for the past nine months, Covington is now very much back in the spotlight, and he could remain there for a run of very big fights on the horizon. First, though, he must get through Woodley.
Covington believes that won’t be an issue.
“He’s not making it five rounds,” Covington said of Woodley. “I don’t want judges involved because I don’t know if they’re going to screw me. I’ve got to take care of business in my own hands, and that’s by finishing Tyron Woodley and not letting it go to the judges, so I definitely see myself finishing inside five rounds.
“I just can’t wait to be unleashed. There’s been an animal that’s been hunting and training the last nine months to correct some wrongs and learn from my mistakes in the past, and I’m ready to show that I’m a changed man, and I’m Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington 2.0 this Saturday night against Tyron Woodley on ESPN.”
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