It turns out Colby Covington’s next fight could be against WWE Champion Drew McIntyre.
The former UFC Interim Welterweight Champion has made it known that he would like to transition into the wrestling world and stated that he wants to be the man to take out the Scottish wrestler and win the WWE Championship. Since then, both men have been going back-and-forth on social media:
Fed up with the controversial fighter, the WWE Champion issued a challenge to Covington for an unsanctioned fight, though McIntyre makes it clear that it wouldn’t be for his prestigious belt:
“If he wants this unsanctioned fight outside of WWE, I’m willing to fight him in a bar or something,” McIntyre told ESPN (transcript courtesy of MMA Fighting). “There’s a reason there’s different weight classes [in MMA]. I’m about 100 pounds heavier than the guy, I’m a foot taller than the guy. I’m willing to have an actual fight with him if he wants an unsanctioned fight. It’ll put more eyes on the product, perfectly happy with me. I’ll smash his head in, I’ll shut him up. I’ll break his jaw like [Kamaru] Usman did, and then more people watch WWE. So, Colby, I’ll fight you. No title shot though, that’s reserved for the WWE superstars.”
Not surprisingly, Covington accepted the challenge:
“Last time I was on here, we were talking about Drew McIntyre,” Covington said on What The Heck. “You signed a man’s death certificate. Now you’re gonna have to get Drew McIntyre’s blood on your hands. Because now he’s talking all crazy out there like he wants to fight in an unsanctioned fight. I’m not afraid of a fight, I love to fight. The world is a strange place right now. Usually, I can fight anybody whenever I want, just ask Dana White. But the world’s a strange place, so I’m having a hard time fighting Drew McIntyre, [but] I’m gonna fight him soon.”
At the moment, there’s no word on whether WWE has interest in bringing Colby Covington for a match against Drew McIntyre. The company has been cutting back on costs lately, including releasing former UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez from his lucrative multi-year contract, so it may not happen anytime soon unless it's a big star like Conor McGregor.