Opinion: Please, Anyone but Colby Covington

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.

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With all due respect to Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Asakura, the most anticipated match at UFC 310 was the welterweight co-main event between Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Garry. Both men entered their highly anticipated contest unbeaten, and the winner was likely to stake a claim as the top contender to Belal Muhammad’s title. By the end of the night, the most hyped topic in press conferences and among MMA talking heads was whether or not Pantoja and Ultimate Fighting Championship brass could coax Demetrious Johnson out of retirement for a flyweight showdown. In other words, Rakhmonov and Garry didn’t satisfy viewers with their performances.

That isn’t to say the fight between Rakhmonov and Garry was bereft of drama or complete dud, but I don’t think I’d get an argument from anyone should I declare that it didn’t live up to expectations. For long stretches of their contest, Rakhmonov and Garry were standing in front of one another, faking and feinting while hoping to draw each other out for counters. While this isn’t a criticism of their fight IQ or their abilities in general, it didn’t make for an aesthetically pleasing contest. Given sports are a form of entertainment, that’s a very bad thing.

To that end, there’s no guarantee the UFC will ensure Rakhmonov gets his title shot against Muhammad next. A business first and a sports organization second, the UFC is always going to do everything in its power to maximize the bottom dollar. If it believes it can find someone with credentials it might be able to pass off as being worthy of challenging for a title and who might attract more eyeballs, the company will surely switch to the more popular fighter. Thus, there’s a legitimate fear the UFC might attempt to do so with Rakhmonov.

Enter the polarizing Colby Covington. The unabashed MAGA supporter came out of nowhere a couple of weeks ago to step in on short notice and take a main event contest against Joaquin Buckley at UFC on ESPN 63 this Saturday in Tampa, Florida. Covington had been very quiet since his loss to then-champion Leon Edwards at UFC 296, offering little to no retort when various fighters have called him out over the past year. It was uncharacteristic of the longtime contender. Why the sudden return?

What no one—not even Covington’s harshest critics—can deny is the man’s intelligence. Despite having fought literally just once a year since the turn of the decade, Covington has managed to remain relevant, fighting twice for the welterweight title in that time. A stupid person doesn’t find ways to be rewarded so generously with such minimal work. Along those lines, Covington is returning to fight Buckley when it was Rakhmonov who originally had the fight opening. Why did the UFC do the do-si-do and move Garry in to fight Rakhmonov when Garry was already booked to fight Buckley? Couldn’t the promotion have just slid Covington into the contest with Rakhmonov?

I can’t say this with any proof, but I have a hard time believing Rakhmonov would have said no to a Covington fight. Covington looked bad in his loss to Edwards, showing signs that wear and tear was catching up to him. Given Covington’s name value, Rakhmonov would have welcomed that opportunity. I believe Covington singled out Buckley as his opponent of choice, saying he’d step in on short notice but only if that was the fight he could get.

That’s Covington playing the game and taking the path of least resistance to get to the title. That’s not cowardice; that’s intelligence. Covington sees something in Buckley that he can exploit and maybe a path to gain a significant reward with a win. Perhaps another title shot? A single win has done the trick for him twice before.

Given the flat feeling many have about Rakhmonov walking out of UFC 310, it can’t be off the table. Covington’s controversial nature has made him one of the most despised fighters on the roster. I’m certain Muhammad would take far more pleasure in the opportunity to inflict pain on Covington than he would on Rakhmonov. Thus, if Muhammad has any say, it’s no guarantee Rakhmonov gets the shot. If that proves to be the case, I’m begging the UFC not to insert Covington into the title picture. The man has already been in three fights for the undisputed title and fallen short each time. No fighter has received a fourth opportunity without having previously won the undisputed title at some point. The most comparable example would be Urijah Faber, who fought for the undisputed championship three times and an interim title a fourth time, losing each attempt. Much like Covington, the only contests Faber was losing in his primary weight class were the title fights. Unlike Covington, Faber was fighting with great frequency. In the span of the last five years, this will be Covington’s sixth fight. By comparison, in the five years covering Faber’s first title shot to his last one, he fought 13 times. Faber was doing his best to eliminate his competition as opposed to just playing a popularity contest.

It isn’t just that Covington has had so many chances. He also looked terrible in his last effort. I know many would say he broke his foot on his first kick of the fight, but that’s how the fight business goes. Edwards blocked the kick, Covington’s foot broke and the champion did effective damage in the process. Covington lost fair and square and delivered five hard-to-watch rounds. He probably would have been better off being finished early. The wins he has had in the time since losing his first title fight don’t help his case, either. Historically, the names of Tyron Woodley and Jorge Masvidal look good, but they were past their primes and Covington capitalized. It could be argued Covington hasn’t beaten a true Top 10 welterweight since his win over Rafael dos Anjos for the interim title in June 2018.

This isn’t me ripping on Covington. I’m not calling him a coward or anything derogatory. I’m merely asking the UFC to reward those who have been putting in the work on a regular basis. Stick with Rakhmonov, especially since he was previously scheduled to fight Muhammad and won a high-level fight in the interim. Besides, being over six years younger than Covington, Rakhmonov has more long-term viability. Then again, I might be fretting over nothing. If Covington looks like he did against Edwards when he meets Buckley, he’ll never sniff a championship fight again.