EXCLUSIVE | Colby Covington explains why he deserves the title shot ahead of Robbie Lawler

While it’s possible that Nate Diaz will jump the line, the race for a shot at Tyron Woodley’s UFC welterweight title seems to come down to a handful of men: Colby Covington, Robbie Lawler, Rafael dos Anjos (Lawler’s upcoming opponent) and Stephen Thompson. In the opinion of Colby Covington, however, it’s pretty easy to chop Lawler and Thompson from that list.

“I’m next in line at welterweight,” Covington said on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio. “You know, I’m number three in the world. There’s only two guys ahead of me: Robbie Lawler and Stephen Thompson. Stephen Thompson, [Woodley] already fought twice. So, he’s not getting another shot. Robbie Lawler got knocked out [by Woodley] in under a minute or two minutes, so, you know, they’re not going to do re-do that fight. It doesn’t make sense. [Besides] I’ve already knocked out Robbie enough in the gym.”

Covington then reiterated that he should be ahead of pretty much everyone at welterweight.

“I’m ahead of [Lawler],” he implored. “I’m the number one contender. I’ve beaten these guys that Tyron fought. I beat these guys a lot worse than Tyron beat them. So, at the end of the day, you know, I’m ready to fight Tyron on a week’s notice, a day’s notice, whenever he wants to go. But, you know, it’s ducking season. He’s going to be ducking me for a while, you know. He’s fought me in the gym, and I’ve taken his soul in the gym. So, he knows I’m a bad matchup, and he’s going to try and duck me as long as he can.”

“I’m hunting my strap, man. I’m the best welterweight in the world right now. I’m not going to be stopped.”

Do you want to see Colby Covington get the welterweight title shot ahead of fighters like Robbie Lawler, Stephen Thompson and Rafael dos Anjos?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 20/11/2017.