I can see what the UFC is trying to do here but after what we saw of Covington in his last fight, I'd rather see a match between two prospects. Rakhmonov vs Chimaev imho. I think Rakhmonov will expose Chim and give him a good beating.
That would be an awesome fight, but it would be a stupid move to set two rising stars against each other on an early stage. From the UFC perspective, it's way better to let them climb to the top by beating up big names past their primes, let them get all the fame they deserve and then set them up against each other and generate huge revenue.
But yeah, my money would go on Rakhmonov.
But pretty sure Rakhmonov will be eager to fight a vet in Covington. And if Covington agrees with the match up and signs the dotted line, then win or lose I think he'll retire after the fight.
Why would he retire if he was to somehow win with Shavkat? I think Colby will be looking to fight for as long as he can. He's too invested in creating his persona and won't give it up easily.
He was calling out Stephen Thompson after his loss to Leon, which shows he's looking for easier opponents to stay relevant for longer.
Just a hunch... I mean who would fight Rakhmonov unless the fighter either wants to die or he just doesn't care anymore. Couple that with Covington's poor showing vs Edwards, I think he doesn't care much about fighting in the cage anymore. Not as much as he used to at least. And Covington agreeing and signing the contract could mean that he knows he's just a stepping stone to bring Rakhmonov in title contention. We'll see...
But again, would rather watch Rakhmonov vs Chim. :/ But the UFC wouldn't do that unless there was a belt on the line.
Check out this match. If you had a bet on Dober this would surely get you off your seat.
UFC Free Fight: Dober vs McKinneyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKySfqmW94AWeigh ins in 4 hours folks... Link to the vid is in the first page.
Nothing for Covington to capitalize on to get another title fight. He used them all up and still did not win a belt. This time he needs to risk his entire career. It's a long shot but if Covington wins against Rakhmonov, I think he will once again be proud to challenge a champ. That's what will happen after. Or not because Rakhmonov will choke the life in him.
Imho I don't think his risking his entire career. He already did everything he could do in the UFC and even if he came up short from winning a belt at 170, he still gave it his all. No shame in retiring with winning it after Rakhmonov.
Anyway here's the weigh results. And we have one miss from Luana Carolina by a couple of pounds. At two lbs, sometimes some fighters stop trying to cut the weight and here it might exactly be the case. If it was a miss of .5 lbs then you know the fighter was def trying...
Roman Dolidze (186) vs Nassourdine Imavov (185)
Drew Dober (156) vs Renato Moicano (156)
Randy Brown (171) vs Muslim Salikhov (171)
Viviane Araujo (126) vs Natalia Silva (125.5)
Aliaskhab Khizriev (186) vs Makhmud Muradov (185.5)
Charlie Radtke (170.5) vs Gilbert Urbina (171)
Diana Belbita (116) vs Molly McCann (116)
Charles Johnson (125.5) vs Azat Maksum (126)
Themba Gorimbo (170.5) vs Pete Rodriguez (170)
Blake Bilder (144.5) vs Jung Gyeong Lee (146)
Luana Carolina (128)* vs Julija Stoliarenko (126)
Marquel Mederos (155.5) vs Landon Quinones (155.5)
Thomas Petersen (261.5) vs Jamal Pogues (265.5)
UFC Dolidze vs Imavov: Weigh In Highlightshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qO53i5kS3kUFC Dolidze vs Imavov: Face Offhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AZc2YbXY3Q