Kamaru Usman Claims Rival Colby Covington Will ‘Hold the Door’ as a Gatekeeper for the UFC’s Welterweight Division
UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman spoke to ‘The Underground’ and had some interesting things about his long-time rival. According to Usman, Colby Covington’s days of contention are behind him, and he will be serving the welterweight division in the capacity of a gatekeeper.
The term gatekeeper is explicitly used for those fighters who are good enough to ward off emerging contenders but have been unable to lift the ultimate prize of a UFC championship.
Usman cited the emergence of several new contenders like Belal Muhammad and Khamzat Chimaev who are the new school of contenders, hungry for their shot at gold, for the reason for Covington’s gatekeeper status.
“There are a lot of guys in that top of the division. You’ve got Belal Muhammad is there. You’ve got (Khamzat) Chimaev is there. You’ve got Covington is still there, holding that door strong. At this point, Covington is standing right in front of that door. For it to really make sense, for anyone to really get through, they need to go through him because he’s proven he can beat everybody else but he can’t just beat me.
“For you to prove that you can fight for the title, I think you need to go through that guy. At the end of the day, I’m going to keep running through these guys until I’m bored. Whoever is next is next.” [h/t mmajunkie.com]
Colby Covington has had two cracks at ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ and has fallen short of sealing the deal when it mattered the most. However, to say that he was blown out in those fights against Usman wouldn’t be a fair assessment.
If ‘Chaos’ Covington has anything to say about the matter, he will most certainly be keen to prove Usman wrong by earning a third title shot. Having already held interim championship gold over his shoulder, the former D-1 All-American from Oregon State will be more than confident in his abilities.
Considering that he just fought for the strap at UFC 268, Covington will need at least another two stellar performances before the UFC can come to him with another title fight opportunity.
