Covington: Oliveira’s UFC 269 win ‘de-legitimizes’ Khabib’s legacy

Charles Oliveira celebrates after his UFC 269 win over Dustin Poirier. | Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

For Colby Covington, Charles Oliveira’s UFC 269 win may have diminished Khabib Nurmagomedov’s legacy.

To this day, many consider the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov as a lightweight GOAT. But after his win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 269 on Saturday, a number of people are now taking notice of reigning UFC 155-pound king Charles Oliveira.

“Do Bronx” may not be undefeated, but he holds several records of his own. And if you ask Colby Covington, Oliveira’s win over Poirier could “de-legitimize” Khabib’s legacy. Especially considering that Nurmagomedov and Oliveira never got to test their skills against one another.

“It definitely kind of de-legitimizes his legacy,” Covington told Submission Radio in a recent interview. “I mean, he never really had a high, high-level wrestler that could challenge him, or that was good in both areas of striking and wrestling and submissions and defensive wrestling. So, there’s always been those doubts about Khabib’s legacy.”

Covington went on to question the opponents that “The Eagle” faced in the UFC, en route to the title.

“He had an interesting route, and he took some time off in between his career and he got good match-ups. You know, people that didn’t know how to wrestle. And I mean, even a lot of people thought that he lost to a guy who I used to train with all the time, Tibau, Gleison Tibau. He won a split decision over him, but a lot of people thought he lost that fight.

“So yeah, I definitely think that kinda puts a damper into Khabib’s legacy. Cause that guy is going out there and getting submitted just like you did to him, the exact same way. So, how would a match-up go with him and the Brazilian?”

Oliveira is currently on a 10-fight win streak dating back to 2018. He also holds the most number of finishes in the UFC with 18, the most submission wins in the UFC with 15, and the most submission wins in featherweight history with 6. On Saturday, he also took home a $50K bonus for Performance of the Night.