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Islam Makhachev has had some criticism for sitting out prior to Ramadan, but Colby Covington has surprisingly come to his defense.
An interim UFC welterweight title fight has been booked between Carlos Prates and Michael Morales for the UFC 336 co-headliner. The news came as a shock to many, as the expectation was that Makhachev would defend his 170-pound gold against Prates in Toronto. Makhachev later explained on social media that his next fight will be one of the last in his career.
Amid the heat that Makhachev has taken, Covington told Farah Hannoun of MMAJunkie that he actually understands why Makhachev didn’t want to waste one of his last bouts prior to Ramadan (via Bloody Elbow).
“I was surprised,” Covington admitted. “I thought that Islam just fought two or three months ago, he just had a title defense. Give him a little bit of time to get through Ramadan. The January date for him didn’t work out, give him some time to fight after Ramadan and those guys aren’t worthy to be fighting for an interim title, what have those guys done?”
It didn’t take long for Covington to admit he doesn’t exactly view Morales as a worthy contender for UFC gold, but he does think the bout with Prates will be entertaining.
“Michael Morales has fought nobody,” Covington said. “He’s been tested by nobody. He’s had an impressive win streak and some nice showcasing wins but he hasn’t had a premier marquee matchup, a main event shot with an ex-champ or a title challenger. So, I don’t think that deserves to be an interim title fight but that’s why the UFC and Hunter Campbell are so great at what they do, they see something and know something. So, that’ll be an exciting fight. I think someone will get knocked out for sure.”
Ultimately, Covington is picking Prates to stop Morales and move on to a title unification showdown with Makhachev at some point in 2027.
Do you agree with Colby Covington’s stance on Islam Makhachev’s decision to wait for the interim title fight to play out, or should he have taken the fight with Carlos Prates at UFC 336? Sound off in the comments below.
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
