UFC-Singapore's Colby Covington already setting up fight with champ Tyron Woodley

It’s no secret UFC welterweight Colby Covington is an ambitious guy. But it turns out he’s also impatient.

Covington (11-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) expects to be fighting for a title within one year if he’s able to beat South Korean standout Dong Hyun Kim (22-3-1 MMA, 13-3) on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 111, which takes place at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore and streams live on UFC Fight Pass.

Covington already is laying the groundwork for a fight with Tyron Woodley, saying the champ “already knows what happened the last time we trained together, so I’m looking for that title shot within a fight.”

Woodley (25-6 MMA, 19-6 UFC) trained sporadically at Covington’s home base at American Top Team before starting his own affiliate gym, ATT Evolution, in St. Louis.

Usually, there’s an unspoken rule that gym business stays between fighters. But Covington has been around long enough to know there are no guarantees when it comes to title shots, so if he has to step on a few toes to get the chance, he’ll do it.

Just a few months back, Covington was standing on a traffic median shouting at oncoming traffic for a fight. He’s already shown he’ll go the extra mile if it benefits his career.

Covington thanked Kim for taking Saturday’s bout – and then resumed talking smack.

Of course, there’s a reason the up-and-comer thinks he should get fast-tracked on the UFC welterweight ladder over the next year. He sees a dearth of fresh faces in the division.

“The guys on top right now have already fought for a title,” he said. “They’re all old, man. All these guys are all coming off USADA (drug testing), so they’re all looking old, and they’re not looking very good any more.”

One veteran would take exception to that characterization. Demian Maia (17-3-1 MMA, 7-2-1 UFC), 39, has looked nothing short of phenomenal as he rebuilt himself as a 170-pound fighter after falling short of the middleweight title. He earned seven straight wins, waiting patiently for his shot at gold while Woodley fought a pair of fights with Stephen Thompson. The submission ace will be next for Woodley later this year.

In the meantime, Covington needs to take out Kim, a longtime standout in the welterweight division with a track record of taking out vets with a lot more professional experience.

But the outspoken Covington figures if he’s going to make moves in the division, he might as well make them as bold as possible.

“Just like (UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway) was saying, if you want to dethrone a king, you’ve got to go to his backyard,” he said.

For more on UFC Fight Night 111, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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