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Colby Covington claims he’s never heard of Khamzat Chimaev

Colby Covington before fighting Robbie Lawler in August 2019
Colby Covington before fighting Robbie Lawler in August 2019 | Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Colby Covington thinks the UFC is pushing Khamzat Chimaev way too hard.

Colby Covington has criticized the UFC for hyping up Khamzat Chimaev, labelling their promotion of ‘Borz’ as a “complete joke.”

Chimaev (9-0) made waves in the UFC last year, winning three fights in the space of just 66 days. The Russian knocked out Rhys McKee last July and submitted John Philips just ten days before the win. After suffering from lingering symptoms of COVID, Chimaev hasn’t fought since his 17-second win over Gerald Meerschaert.

Talking recently to James Lynch, Covington didn’t sound surprised that none of Chimaev’s wins have come against ranked opponents.

“I’ve never even heard of him. Does this guy have a ranked win yet? Oh, he doesn’t. Everybody’s hyping these kids up these days,” Covington said (h/t BJPenn.com)

Covington feels the UFC is moving away from their traditional matchmaking system to making fights based off the hype of a fighter. ‘Chaos’ compared the buzz of Chimaev to that of his teammate turned rival Jorge Masvidal, who was knocked out by Kamaru Usman at UFC 261 in April.

“They were just hyping up journeyman street Judas [Jorge] Masvidal like he was this world beater and he’s gonna baptize people. We just saw what happened to him, he was unconscious in the Octagon.

“That’s the state and age of the UFC (now). It’s all about hype. There’s no credibility — I wouldn’t say there’s no credibility, (the UFC is) a great organization — but the way people get the hype on them is just a complete joke. Go out there and show it with your resume. Look at my resume. Multiple UFC champions on it that I’ve beaten. When a guy decides to beat multiple UFC champions and beats the best guys in the world, then come holler at me, and I’ll hit you down a step.”

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