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Colby Covington believes Conor McGregor deserves a shot at Charles Oliveira's UFC lightweight championship.
It's clear for all to see that Conor McGregor has his eyes set firmly on the 155-pound prize, similar to Colby Covington still wanting the UFC welterweight championship. McGregor has been on the shelf since suffering a doctor stoppage defeat and leg break against Dustin Poirier in their trilogy fight in July. This followed on from a TKO loss to the same man in January.
Covington, meanwhile, was just edged out by Kamaru Usman via decision at UFC 268 in their intense rematch. However, even in defeat, many fans noted that they were eager to see him back in the title picture sooner rather than later.
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Right now both men currently sit without the gold. McGregor is planning to return from his nasty leg break in 2022 and Covington is tipped to appear in some form of grudge match in the first half of the year.
When McGregor does come back, he hopes to collide with Charles Oliveira for the right to be called the UFC lightweight champion.
According to Covington, it's an opportunity that McGregor should most certainly get:
“It makes sense. Conor should go out there and fight for the title - there’s no reason for him to fight Dustin now. That fight is pointless, that fight is dead. Dustin isn’t a big draw or anything. That fight [McGregor vs Oliveira] makes a ton of sense. McGregor can heal up and he can fight that, Dustin can re-evaluate and decide if he still wants to keep fighting, because you can already see the quit in him.”
“He’s [McGregor] a former champion, a two-division champion, he accomplished some great things in this sport and brought a lot of new eyes to this sport. A lot of people who didn’t watch this sport now watch it because of Conor and he’s done some good things. We don’t know if he still has that same drive as he used to, because the guy is filthy rich. When you’re that rich, what gets you up in the morning to drive you?”
Check out Covington's comments here:
Who could fight Charles Oliveira next?
Charles Oliveira successfully defended his UFC lightweight title against Dustin Poirier last weekend. In doing so, he cemented his position as the best 155-pounder on the planet right now.
The next logical step in the eyes of many would be for Charles Oliveira to defend the strap against Justin Gaethje. However, Islam Makhachev and Beneil Dariush will also both be calling for the shot depending on who wins their February encounter.
Conor McGregor feels like a realistic possibility given his name value, but it all comes down to what Charles Oliveira wants to do and who he sees as worthy.
Buckle up because this lightweight rollercoaster is only going to get more interesting in 2022.
