Michael Chandler teases potential Colby Covington fight after UFC Tampa

Michael Chandler welcomes a fight with UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington.

Former three-time UFC welterweight title challenger Covington (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) returns against Joaquin Buckley (20-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 63 main event (ESPN2, ESPN+) at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.

Chandler (23-9 MMA, 2-4 UFC) is rooting for Buckley to shut Covington’s lights off.

“I’d love to see Colby Covington get his block knocked off by Joaquin Buckley this weekend,” Chandler told Lucky Block. “I mean, what an interesting decision. You sit out for all those years, lose a title fight and all of a sudden you come back kind of on short notice against Joaquin Buckley.

“Colby’s not the smartest guy, he’s not the brightest bulb and we’ll see it on Saturday night. I think Joaquin Buckley goes out there, and I think he finishes Colby. I do. I think Colby just doesn’t have it anymore. I don’t really know if Colby ever really had it, to be honest with you, but we’ll see how it plays out. But, I think Joaquin goes out there and gets his hand raised.”

Chandler is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC 309 last month. It was a tough pill to swallow for Chandler, who still has hopes of rebooking his fight against Conor McGregor. But if not McGregor, Chandler likes his chances against former interim welterweight champion Covington.

“Never say never when it comes to a fight with Colby,” Chandler said. “I’ve made it very clear. I don’t like making 155 (pounds), I love fights at 170 and to me, Colby is a 155’er who doesn’t want to cut much weight. He isn’t a big guy, and I bet him and I weigh within a couple of pounds of each other when we are at our heaviest.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 63.