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Colby Covington recently shared his thoughts on what type of bouts he would prefer when he returns to the octagon. He noted that name recognition is ideal and would much rather compete against a proven competitor rather than a young up-and-comer.
Covington last competed at UFC Tampa in December 2024, where he lost via TKO against Joaquin Buckley after the cageside doctor determined that he was unable to continue due to a cut. Since then, 'Chaos' has remained busy as he recently wrapped up filming the latest season of 'The Ultimate Fighter', where he assisted coach Chael Sonnen.
During his latest appearance on Tim Welch's Red Hawk Recap, Covington addressed his fighting future and said that he prefers to compete for his legacy rather than ranking. The 37-year-old mentioned that he wants to put on the biggest fights possible rather than fighting prospects that are looking to make a name for themselves at his expense:
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"Whatever the biggest and best fights I can get done for the UFC, that's what I want to do... I want legacy fights, big fights, former champions, you know, big high level fights. Not guys that are just coming up and just starting to build their name because I've been here, I've done that, I'm a world champion. It doesn't matter what my ranking is, I'm the champion of the division. I'm the biggest star and the biggest star in the division."
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Check out Colby Covington's comments below (16:38):
Colby Covington outlines preferred timeline for his next UFC fight
During the aforementioned appearance, Colby Covington also chose his preferred timeline for his octagon return. Covington mentioned that a late summer or fall would be ideal as he wants to ensure he has a full training camp, which he didn't have for his latest bout. He said:
"We just gotta see how the landscape and things play out and how this title fight goes and then we go from there... I think end of summer, early fall. You know, I want to get into a good training camp. I've been busy with 'The Ultimate Fighter', I've been traveling around... Yeah, I think fall makes sense." [17:15]
Check out Colby Covington's walkout for his latest bout at UFC Tampa below:
