Colby Covington to lay Demian Maia to rest at UFC Brazil, ‘humiliate’ Tyron Woodley in ‘easy’ title fight

Colby Covington is as confident as they come. With four straight wins to his credit, “Chaos” will look to take the next step in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career if he can score a victory over longtime veteran, Demian Maia, when the two collide at UFC Fight Night 119 on October 28, 2017 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Should he get past the jiu-jitsu ace, Colby feels it will be enough to warrant a shot a the strap. And while he isn’t worrying about the need for a statement finish to be considered for an invitation to the big dance, Covington says he’s going to knockout the former title contender in the very first round, regardless.

“No, that doesn't weigh on my mind at all,” said Colby during an interview with Flo Combat. “My sun is rising. His sun is setting. This is my time. He had his time. I'm going to lay him to rest. I'm going to knock him out in the first round in front of his home fans."

While it’s no secret Maia’s bread-and-butter is the submission game, Covington says there is no way Demian takes him down and gets his back. And you have to look no further than the Brazilian’s title fight against Tyron Woodley at UFC 214 (see it) where he failed to take “The Chosen One” down.

And according to Colby, Woodley’s wrestling is nowhere near his level.

"We're just working for the worst-case scenario, if he gets to my back. He's not going to get to my back. He has JV-level takedowns. I'm the highest level wrestling that there is,” he stated.

“His takedown game, look at Woodley. He stuffed [23] of 23 takedowns, and Woodley can't hold my jock strap in wrestling. At the end of the day, Demian Maia, he's not going to get to my back. But we're going to prepare for the worst-case scenario in case it does happen. We're going to be prepared on all cylinders, and we're going to finish Demian Maia. Mark my words."

With a win over Maia, Covington’s stock will surely rise, even as high as No. 1 contender, which means he will get the chance to throw real hands with Woodley after getting the best of the 170-pound champ during their “scraps” at American Top Team (ATT).

"We've had a lot of scraps in here at ATT before, when [Woodley] was ATT, before he went to Duke Roufus. And I just feel I'm very confident in his style, man. He plays the safe game. He backs up, backs up, then he tries to explode with one shot. The thing is, against me, that style's not going to work. I know his style. I know what he's trying to do. And my pressure fighting, I'll break him. Inside four rounds, he will quit. He'll never come back to that Octagon after I humiliate him inside the Octagon. I've done it in the gym. I'll do it in the Octagon, man,” he added.

"It's an easy matchup for me. I'm just excited to get my hands on him. And I'm not looking past Demian Maia. I'm very focused on Demian Maia. But I want to make it clear: Tyron Woodley, he is next."

What say you, Maniacs, does a win over Maia warrant a shot at the strap for Covington?