Colby Covington may be on his way back to the octagon in the very near future as Ali Abdelaziz has announced that the UFC already has plans in place for the controversial fighter, with TUF already being presented to the welterweight.
‘Chaos’ hasn’t competed in the sport since being assaulted by Jorge Masvidal whilst out in Miami following his dominant win over his teammate-turned-rival earlier that month. ‘Gamebred’ is preparing to return to the octagon later this year, leaving questions about the former interim champion’s whereabouts.
During a recent interview, Ali Abdelaziz claimed that “nobody knows” where Colby Covington is after the UFC presented him with an opportunity to coach the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter alongside Belal Muhammad.
“The UFC reached out to me and said, ‘Belal versus Colby, coaching The Ultimate Fighter.’ We said yes. Nobody can find Colby, nobody knows where he’s at. Last time I heard, he was at the UFC PI with security… I don’t know if he’s trying to sue Masvidal, trying to cash in, or trying to do whatever. Fight or just leave the sport or get out of the rankings. Belal should be fighting for the title to be honest [as opposed to being matched up against Covington]… Belal now, the UFC are very much saying that they’re working on the Colby Covington fight, this is the right fight.”
‘Remember the Name’ has quietly put together a respectable resume and now finds himself firmly in the title picture, having not lost a fight inside the cage in his last nine bouts.
Check out what Ali Abdelaziz had to say about a possible matchup between Colby Covington and Belal Muhammad in the video below.
What will happen to the winner between Colby Covington and Belal Muhammad?
Although nothing is official as of yet, reports are suggesting the #2 and #4 ranked welterweights in Colby Covington and Belal Muhammad are set to be matched up next, so what does a win do for either man?
With Leon Edwards booked to make the first defense of the 170lb strap against Kamaru Usman, it looks likely that whoever walks away with the title after UFC 286 will be needing a new opponent before the end of the year.
While the winner of the potential meeting between Covington and Muhammad seems like the most logical option as the next contender, it remains to be seen where Khamzat Chimaev fits into the picture.