The MMA community has weighed in on the opening odds for a potential Khamzat Chimaev vs. Colby Covington matchup. As reported by Chamatkar Sandhu via @betonline_ag, the bookmakers are favoring Chimaev to emerge victorious.
Khamzat Chimaev has issued multiple call-outs to former interim UFC welterweight champion Colby Covington over the past several months. That said, Chimaev missed weight for his welterweight bout against Nate Diaz earlier this month, and many believed his next fight would be at middleweight. Regardless, in a recent tweet, ‘Borz’ hinted at fighting Covington next.
Chimaev set the MMA world abuzz with speculation regarding a possible welterweight dream matchup against Covington. As noted in the post below, ‘Borz’ has been touted as the favorite to beat ‘Chaos.’ Sandhu tweeted:
“Here are the opening odds for a potential Khamzat Chimaev vs. Colby Covington fight: Khamzat Chimaev -155 (20/31) Colby Covington +135 (27/20) (odds via @betonline_ag)”
One fan reacted to the Chimaev-Covington odds by suggesting that ‘Borz’ may not be able to make the 170-pound welterweight limit:
“Odds Khamzat makes 170lbs?”
Meanwhile, another fan echoed similar sentiments. Jibing at Chimaev over his weight miss, the fan jested that perhaps Covington is moving up to middleweight to face him:
“Colby is going up to middleweight? Lol”
One Twitter user opined that Covington would out-strike and defeat Chimaev:
“@ColbyCovMMA can keep this standing, and his striking is better. Coby beats that a**.”
Another user implied that he’d bet heavily on the underdog Covington:
“Omfg i would hammer that Colby line like im building a f**king railroad”
Meanwhile, a fan alluded to Covington’s widely-revered cardio and claimed that Chimaev would lose to him in the later rounds:
“c*mshot is not lasting in rounds 4/5 lmao”
Alternatively, one fan labeled Covington as overrated:
“Colby is the most overrated fighter in the ufc right now”
Furthermore, some fans picked Chimaev to defeat Covington dominantly. One fan wrote:
“Khamzat by brutal finish”
Aljamain Sterling foresees Colby Covington likely avoiding a Khamzat Chimaev fight
The UFC hasn’t officially announced the potential Chimaev-Covington matchup. Some believe that the fight may not materialize at all. UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling notably claimed that Colby Covington might avoid fighting Khamzat Chimaev.
Taking to his YouTube channel, ‘Funk Master’ highlighted that ‘Chaos’ is pursuing big-name opponents and wouldn’t benefit from fighting a young killer like Chimaev. Additionally, emphasizing that ‘Borz’ is a bad stylistic matchup for Covington, Sterling said:
“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.”
Watch Sterling’s assessment below: