'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
This past weekend saw Colby Covington pick up one of the biggest victories of his UFC career. He outpointed former teammate Jorge Masvidal in a five-round headline bout.
After defeating Jorge Masvidal, Colby Covington called out another former teammate, Dustin Poirier, for a fight. Should the UFC match the two men up?
Trending
The answer is almost definitely yes, as the fight works on multiple levels and would definitely pique the interest of all UFC fans.
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
With that in mind, here are five reasons why Covington vs. Poirier is the fight to make next.
#5. Colby Covington vs. Dustin Poirier would make for an intriguing stylistic bout
The UFC’s primary concerns usually center around booking fights that will either draw big money or decide who the best fighters in the world are. The promotion also never forgets the power of an exciting fight.
Over the years, we’ve seen plenty of examples of heated rivalries or big-money fights that simply didn’t deliver the goods inside the octagon. However, if the UFC were to book Colby Covington vs. Dustin Poirier, that probably wouldn’t be the case.
The styles of these two fighters – on paper at least – appear to mesh together perfectly to make for a truly exciting fight that could probably go either way.
As everyone knows, Covington’s game hinges on both his ability to push a torrid pace, and to threaten his opponent with takedowns enough to allow him to work his volume striking game.
However, whether that would work on Poirier is another matter entirely. ‘The Diamond’ hits like a ton of bricks, is arguably the best pressure-based striker in the UFC, and he’s rarely ever been blanketed or outgrappled.
Essentially, then, there would be genuine question marks over which way this fight would go. This would make it a hugely intriguing one for the fans, who may well find themselves split down the middle in terms of picking a winner.
For that reason, the UFC should definitely look to put it together soon.
#4. Colby Covington and Dustin Poirier already have an existing feud
The UFC often attempts to manufacture feuds between its biggest stars – something that doesn’t always work. In the case of Colby Covington vs. Dustin Poirier, there’d certainly be no need to manufacture a thing.
That’s because the two former teammates have essentially been at one another’s throats since 2020. Things have been bubbling under the surface even during Covington’s rivalry with Jorge Masvidal and Poirier’s with Conor McGregor.
The beef apparently started when Poirier allegedly complained about Covington’s behavior to American Top Team proprietor Dan Lambert – something that resulted in ‘Chaos’ essentially being forced out of the team.
In turn, Covington labelled ‘The Diamond’ a “doofus”. He then went onto poke at him further by releasing some questionable sparring footage that seemed to show Poirier knocking down an amateur fighter prior to his clash with McGregor at UFC 264.
Poirier denied that, stating the footage showed regular sparring. Following Covington’s callout of him last weekend, he labelled the former welterweight title challenger a “bombaclot”.
Given the heat that clearly exists between these two fighters, it’s likely that the only way to settle their rivalry would involve violence. That means that the UFC should book the fight and let them sort things in the octagon.
#3. It’d show the rest of the roster the importance of calling out opponents
While all of the UFC’s fighters want to make the most money possible – something that’s come to the forefront far more since Conor McGregor kickstarted the era of the ‘money fight’ a few years ago – it’s often the case that they don’t know the best route to get there.
On too many occasions, we’ve seen a fighter pick up an impressive win inside the octagon but rather than have an idea for their next opponent, their post-fight interview simply sees them state that they’ll fight “whoever the UFC wants” next.
Clearly, that’s no way to sell a fight. Colby Covington, on the other hand, clearly knows how to ensure that his fights are always talked about. One way that he does that is to call out future opponents in an entertaining fashion.
His callout of Dustin Poirier last weekend was definitely no exception, and already, fans are discussing the possibility of the bout – making it more likely to be a big hit on pay-per-view.
By simply acquiescing to the demands of Covington and booking the fight, the UFC would therefore be sending a message to the rest of their roster. Essentially, they’d be telling them that in order to get the big fights, they have to make the effort to sell those fights from the earliest possible moment.
Of course, if that message were to sink in, then it’d only mean better things for the UFC and for its fighters.
#2. Neither man has another obvious opponent right now
One major reason for the UFC to make a fight between Colby Covington and Dustin Poirier is the fact that right now, neither man has a different clear-cut opponent waiting.
Covington’s feud with Jorge Masvidal was settled last weekend. As he already holds two losses to current UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, it’d be hard for the promotion to justify a third bout between the two.
Fights with opponents such as Khamzat Chimaev and Leon Edwards might make sense. Then again, the UFC probably wouldn’t want to risk Covington beating them and knocking off a potential title challenger.
Poirier, meanwhile, is coming off his own title loss at the hands of UFC lightweight champ Charles Oliveira. Essentially, ‘The Diamond’ has already fought most of the other top 155lbers in the promotion.
Both men, therefore, are basically in the same spot; they’re good enough to beat most of the best fighters in their weight class, but they’re not good enough to beat the champion. The UFC likely doesn’t want them to prevent other contenders from climbing to the top.
Essentially, the only fight that makes sense for either man right now would be against one another – meaning the UFC should simply make it and see what happens.
#1. Colby Covington vs. Dustin Poirier would draw on pay-per-view
Given that the UFC’s big aim is always to put together fights that draw big money on pay-per-view, any chance they get to match two big stars against each other is a chance worth taking.
Right now, the promotion doesn’t have many stars bigger than Dustin Poirier and Colby Covington.
It’s probably fair to suggest that, at the current time, Poirier is the bigger star of the two. ‘The Diamond’ defeated Conor McGregor in two epic bouts in 2021. While he hasn’t eclipsed the Irishman’s drawing power because of those wins, he’s definitely a drawing card in his own right now – the evidence being the strong 500k buys for his fight with Charles Oliveira.
Covington, meanwhile, has one of the most divisive personalities in the promotion, with as many UFC fans loving him as hating him.
More to the point, he’s also become a pay-per-view draw in his own right, with his bout with Kamaru Usman at UFC 268 pulling in 700k buys.
If you add in the feud between the two, there can be no doubt that a fight between Covington and Poirier would draw big numbers on pay-per-view – generating plenty of money both for the UFC and for the fighters. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to make the fight.
