UFC welterweight Colby Covington unsurprisingly favors himself in a potential matchup with Georges St-Pierre, saying the Canadian’s striking is “very kindergarten.”
Former two-division champ St-Pierre (26-2) is widely regarded as the greatest welterweight of all time, if not pound-for-pound as well. And while the 40-year-old is officially retired, his return to the Cctagon has been the source of much rumor in recent years, with former lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomdov his most likely opponent.
Covington (17-2), who has regularly claimed 170-pound GOAT status for himself, is the #1-ranked UFC welterweight. He’s won eight of his last nine bouts, losing only to current champ Kamaru Usman in what was one of the best fights in recent history.
The self-described 170 pounds of “raw American steel and twisted sex appeal” believes he would be too much for GSP to handle. Speaking on the MMA Roasted Podcast, 33-year-old Covington said his wrestling prowess and cardio would nullify St-Pierre’s game plan.
“I don’t think I could beat Georges St-Pierre. I know I’d beat St-Pierre,” Covington said (h/t Jeff Cain of MMA Weekly). “He was able to take a lot of guys down and hold them down and ground and pound. He’s not taking me down. My cardio is completely different. I’ve never been taken down in the UFC Octagon, so he’s not going to be the first.”
In a rare moment of grace, Covington conceded that St-Pierre has an effective jab. But overall, the self-anointed “People’s Champ” isn’t impressed by GSP’s striking game.
“Georges St-Pierre, his striking was very basic, very kindergarten,” said Covington. “He didn’t have a lot of tricks. He just had that really good jab, but that’s pretty easy to counter if you’re moving your head and using footwork. I think Georges St-Pierre would have been a very, extremely easy fight for me.”
What do you think? Would Colby Covington make easy work of GSP? Or would he get destroyed?