Colby Covington: Tyron Woodley and ‘Darrell Doughboy’ Are Fighting for a No. 1 Contender’s Spot
Colby Covington doesn’t quite understand the UFC’s logic in booking a welterweight title fight between Tyron Woodley and Darren Till but there’s not much he can do about it now.
Following a unanimous decision victory over Rafael dos Anjos in June to become interim champion, Covington was asked to make a quick turn around to face Woodley in the UFC 228 main event on Sept. 8.
Unfortunately, Covington was still recovering from his fight just a few weeks earlier and had already scheduled surgery to repair a deviated septum and help with a case of sinusitis that had been restricting his breathing for several years.
While he doesn’t begrudge the UFC for needing a title fight to fill the main event slot this weekend, Covington counters by saying that Woodley and Till are really just competing for a shot at his belt.
“The UFC put themselves in a scramble and they needed to fill that pay-per-view slot. I understand it,” Covington said ahead of UFC 228. “Woodley hasn’t fought in over a year so I understand wanting to get him to fight. It is what it is, that’s how the cards are drawn.
“It’s a No. 1 contender’s fight. They’re fighting for the No. 1 contendership.”
Now Covington is still clutching his interim welterweight title that was a result of his win over dos Anjos at UFC 225.
Sadly for Covington, UFC president Dana White has stated that the moment Woodley and Till step into the Octagon on Saturday night that they will be competing for the only welterweight title and the interim belt will be no more.
Obviously, Covington doesn’t see it that way as he seeks to face the winner of the UFC 228 main event, which he expects to be an absolute dud.
“Woodley hasn’t fought for a year and his last fight was the least amount of strikes thrown in history,” Covington said. “That’s going to be his history and his legacy. He’s going to be known for being a boring fighter with the least strikes thrown.
“Then he’s going against Darrell “Doughboy”, who has to prove he can make championship weight. No one knows if he can make championship weight. He’s missed weight in two out of the six fights he’s had in the UFC. That’s 33-percent, you do the math. That’s not very professional. He also got gifted a decision against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in his home country.”
As much as this fight might have Covington seething under the surface considering he believes his rivalry against Woodley would have dwarfed this card in total pay-per-view buys if the UFC was just willing to wait a couple of months, he’s holding onto his claim as champion and awaits the winner later this year.
“Let them fight it out for the No. 1 contender’s spot so they can fight the real champ,” Covington said. “The people’s champ. America’s champ, Colby “Chaos” Covington.”
