On Saturday evening at UFC Vegas 11, Colby Covington (16-2) arguably earned the most satisfying victory of his career. Covington dominated Tyron Woodley (19-6-1) over the course of five rounds before a rib injury stopped the action in the final round.
The former UFC interim champion used his high level pace and pressure to break Woodley. After years of build up, Covington did what he said he would do in dominating the former UFC champion. It was a big bounce back win for Covington.
Since 2016, Covington is 8-1 with his lone loss coming to Kamaru Usman back at UFC 245 for the undisputed title. This was Covington’s first fight since losing the fight to Usman back in December of last year. So after this victory, what’s next for Colby Covington?
What should the UFC do?
If you ask me, there are a few avenues that the UFC could pursue with Colby Covington. The first option is they could just have him wait for the winner of the Kamaru Usman – Gilbert Burns fight that is scheduled for UFC 256 in December.
Dana White has said how much he loved Usman and Covington’s fight from UFC 245, and he absolutely believes that Covington is in the mix for another title shot. With the current state of everything, Covington could be first in line for the winner.
Another option, and the one I personally think they should do, is pairing Covington with Jorge Masvidal. There is so much heat right now between Masvidal and Covington. Their fight is a fight that UFC fans are dying to see. The storyline is there for a massive event.
Now, the UFC has been working on a Masvidal – Nate Diaz rematch for January, but that fight is still not finalized. The UFC might pivot to make the Covington fight if Masvidal is willing to do it. That’s still up in the air at the moment.
The other option for Covington would be Leon Edwards. Edwards still doesn’t have an opponent despite calling out nearly everyone for a fight in the UFC. The third ranked contender has just been sitting on the sidelines.
The fight would make sense from a rankings perspective, but I’m not sure Covington wants that fight. I think Covington will hold out for either Masvidal or another shot at the welterweight title.