- Colby Covington has opened as the -135 betting favorite in a potential fight with Khamzat Chimaev.
- UFC President Dana White hinted before last weekend’s UFC 273 event that Chimaev would face Covington next if he beat Gilbert Burns.
- Chimaev edged out Burns via a close unanimous decision at the UFC 273 main card.
Colby Covington has opened as the slight betting favorite in a possible showdown with Khamzat Chimaev.
According to the best UFC sportsbooks, Chaos is the -135 betting favorite to beat Chimaev who came back at +115 The betting lines were released after UFC President Dana White hinted during an appearance at the Pat Mcafee show last week that Chimaev could end up fighting Covington if he beat Gilbert Burns:
Dana White: “I think if Khamzat Chimaev wins this weekend we see him and Colby Covington next.” ?#UFC273 (via @PatMcAfeeShow) pic.twitter.com/sRzLhXGewN
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) April 8, 2022
Chimaev won a narrow unanimous decision against the former title challenger, beating Burns 29-28 across all three judges’ scorecards.
The Hype is Real
The hype is REAL ?
[ @KChimaev | #UFC273 ] pic.twitter.com/2q8Dyrm6Cs
— UFC (@ufc) April 10, 2022
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Chimaev entered the fight with plenty of hype and an undefeated but untested record. But the 27-year old Chechnyan proved that the hype is real by putting up an impressive effort against the no. 2 ranked welterweight in the UFC. Although Borz failed to make good on his prediction to knock out Burns inside the opening minute of the fight, he proved that he belongs among the elites.
Burns outgunned Chimaev 141-124 in total strikes and 118-109 in total significant strikes but it was Chimaev who landed the more telling blows, dropping and rocking Burns several times during the bout. Borz also took Burns down twice and controlled the Brazilian for 2:23 of their nine-minute bout while also foiling all of Burns’ five takedown attempts.
The win improved Chimaev’s record to 11-0 with six knockouts and four submission wins. Borz has never seen the plus money sign next to his name inside the UFC Octagon and he was a massive -600 favorite against Burns. However, if the opening odds hold, he will be the underdog for the first time against Covington.
Covington Outwrestles Masvidal at UFC 272
Colby Covington outwrestles Jorge Masvidal, wins by unanimous decision at UFC 272https://t.co/dSVkltHMiW
— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 6, 2022
Covington is coming off a unanimous decision win over good friend turned bitter rival Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272 just last month. Chaos outwrestled Masvidal by taking him down six times during the five-round bout while controlling Gamebred on the mat for over 16 minutes of fight time. Covington also out-landed Masvidal 218-90 in total strikes, including 94-67 in significant strikes.
The win put Covington back on the winning track after losing to Kamaru Usman at UFC 268 in a challenge for the UFC welterweight championship. The defeat was his second to Usman who knocked him out at UFC 245 in 2019 during Covington’s first crack at the undisputed belt. Chaos won an interim welterweight title before but was stripped of the belt due to inactivity.
Chaos is 17-3 with four knockouts and four submission wins. He has been the betting underdog only twice in his last 11 bouts and both bouts were against Usman. Covington won all nine fights during that stretch where he was listed as the odds on favorite, including as the -350 betting favorite against Masvidal in his last bout.
