Colby Covington recently weighed in on a potential Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria lightweight title clash. He noted that it would be a great matchup and he wouldn't count Topuria out.
Topuria officially relinquished his featherweight championship in order to move up to lightweight, which had the MMA community speculating that an immediate title shot against Makhachev was in the works. Both competitors have been involved in several back-and-forth exchanges on social media, with 'El Matador' expressing his confidence that he would finish the reigning lightweight champion.
During his latest appearance on Tim Welch's Red Hawk Recap, Covington shared his thoughts on whether Topuria could defeat Makhachev. 'Chaos' referenced Makhachev's first bout against Alexander Volkanovski and latest against Dustin Poirier and mentioned that there could be a path to victory for Topuria:
"I think [Topuria] has the ability to upset him. That first Makhachev-Volkanovski fight was really close. A lot of people thought that Volkanovski won that fight, so I think that the blueprint is out there for Makhachev. I didn't think he looked that good in the last fight versus Dustin [Poirier]. He looked beatable. He didn't look like, invincible, so I think that would be an interesting fight."
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
Check out Colby Covington's comments below (14:21):
Colby Covington highlights what could be deciding factor in potential Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria fight
Colby Covington also shared his thoughts on a key factor which can decide a potential Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria lightweight title fight.
During the aforementioned appearance, Covington mentioned that if Makhachev can take Topuria down and maintain control, it could determine whether he retains his title:
"Yeah, I think that'll be the key to the fight. Can Makhachev get him to the ground or is Topuria slippery enough to get away cause he did get taken down in a couple of his fights." [15:06]
Check out Islam Makhachev's post-fight interview following his latest lightweight title defense below: