UFC dream fights vol.8: Colby Covington v Tyron Woodley

Las Vegas, April 13: Accusations of running and ducking would finally be answered if Colby Covington and Tyron Woodley were ever to settle the score inside the Octagon. There is absolutely no love lost between former UFC welterweight champion Woodley and Covington, who have been on an ugly collision course for a number of years. Woodley was slated to face Leon Edwards in London last month but the fight was cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Covington insisted he was ready to take on the bout at short notice, yet the UFC being indefinitely suspended means there is little chance on a match being signed off in the immediate future. Still this is a showdown that would get fans talking, so in the eighth edition of our UFC dream fights series we broke down the profiles of Covington and Woodley. WHY DO WE WANT TO SEE THIS FIGHT? In a stacked welterweight division, Kamaru Usman is the man in possession of the belt and has defeated Woodley and Covington – ranked one and two by UFC behind the champion – in his previous two fights. Which means, at this stage, the right thing to do would be fight each other.

Covington is a man who fights with a chip on his shoulder, declaring prior to the Usman fight he would slap UFC president Dana White if he tried to wrap the belt around his waist over frustrations about how long he had to wait for a title fight. The welterweight division is stacked with all-time greats. Georges St-Pierre – arguably the best ever was – champion for five years and eight months in his second run, and Woodley held the belt for almost three years. Facing and beating Covington would be a great way to cement his place as one of the best at 170lbs. Crucially, there appears a real desire from both men to get this fight on. A series of provocative social-media messages whetted the appetite of fans, but this is a score that must be settled in the cage.