Colby Covington sees an undefeated contender as most worthy for the next UFC welterweight title shot against Islam Makhachev.
Makhachev (28-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC) awaits his first title defense after dominating Jack Della Maddalena to capture the title at UFC 322. Ian Machado Garry and former champ Kamaru Usman have been heavily campaigning for their shot, but longtime staple in the division Covington thinks Morales should be the one.
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Morales (19-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) remained unbeaten when he quickly finished Sean Brady by TKO this past November.
“For right now, what’s on the table, I think Michael Morales makes the most sense,” Covington told MMA Junkie. “He’s undefeated, he’s from Ecuador, we need that Ecuador market, it looks good for South America, and he’s just undefeated. He’s been knocking everybody out, he’s an exciting fighter, he has some charisma, he’s a funny guy.
“He says some weird things. I know he does some weird things in the streets. He dances in dresses. I don’t like that. I don’t think you should be teaching the youth about being a man dancing in dresses. That’s just not manly. Let’s keep men manly, but all shenanigans aside, I think as a fighter, Michael Morales makes the most sense, and that’s the fight I’d like to see for the welterweight title against Makhachev.”
Makhachev revealed that he was offered a fight for UFC 324 in January, just two months after claiming his belt, but he turned it down due to the quick turnaround. He said he thinks it might have been Morales, but his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, says it was likely either Machado Garry or Usman.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Colby Covington shares ‘who makes most sense’ to fight Islam Makhachev
