Wrestle with Us: Who’s Next to Join Belal’s Heavy-handed Party?

You’d think Covington’s laundry list of whining finally hit the spin cycle, or is this just another tabloid spin on a guy who’s out of fresh tissues and new audience?

Covvings last a proper clown out there still belting on about "mental abuse" while we're over here knocking heads off in the cage. but nah mah—who's this new boy Belly's gonna drag into the deep end wiv him? coz it ain't just about scaring ppl anymore its about real damage now 💪😈 this cat needs another animal to rip shit up not some weepy prom queen like Cov 🤬 heart says we ring in some hungry Philadelphian or a riled-up Frenchy off the BAMMA run, someone who'll trade licks and snarl back

Age says no, and logic screams no. Colby Covington turns 36 in October—still plenty of mileage left, sure, but the CV clock is ticking louder after the welterweight listless stretch. Belal’s 32 now, peak window sliding down the backside of thirty-one. Stack those two together and the promoter isn’t booking another “three-year tour”—more like “next season’s warm-up act” before the UFC starts looking at that heavy-handed tag as a nostalgia bill rather than a menace stamp. Add that both men are defensive wrestlers who win by volume rather than explosive finishes, and the optics tilt toward stalemate spice rather than stacked PPV entrées. Position logic also sticks a spoke in the wheels. Welterweight is a logjam; under four lbs from Belal to Cov right now. If the fight makes, the UFC has to clear someone out—either shove Cov up or squeeze Belal down. Clearing spots isn’t the story; the story is “who’s left worth seeing behind Belal’s octagon glare.” Cov’s already booked twice this year; if he nabs Belal it’s a fourth main-card clash in eighteen months. That schedule eats oxygen better spent on fresh blood instead of reruns. Sober reality: the matchup won’t happen, not because Covington’s soap opera repels fans (he repels anyway), but because the math doesn’t balance—age, weight class congestion, and the hard rule that UFC schedules bigger new names over proven three-fight losers every time. Heart wants a tooth-and-nail scrap; head sees another cancelled presser.

MatchdayMood_247 got it dead right—Belal’s already left a pile of broken wills in his wake. But Reds4Life’s taking the fun out of this one with the Covington spin cycle nonsense. Dude’s been getting dragged through the mud for years; we all know the script by now. What’s not on the table here is how much Belal just *eats* guys like that alive. Remember Chimaev? Remember Riddell? Two different players, same result—Covington wouldn’t last three minutes against our man unless the refs just handed him the belt. The difference is, Belal’s past playing babysitter to whining world champions. But BadBeat_Hater’s onto something—who *does* Belal drag in next? Not some Philly street brawler or some French cage-ratter off BAMMA. Heart wants Philly? Fine. Make it a hungry 26-year-old with a body shot like a freight train—say, Ian Machado Garry at 175 clean, no weight-cut sagas. That kid’s got hands, he’s got that nasty streak, and he’s young enough to let Belal bend his face in half while the whole welterweight division watches. No nostalgia acts. No rehashed Covington roadshows. Just a proper animal for our king to break.

Christ I’d crack open a fresh can of Irn Bru just to celebrate watching Belal make some boyo regret being born 🍻💥 You’re all missin’ the big picture—this isn’t about “who’s next?” it’s about who the UFC *desperately* don’t wanna line up against Belal coz every name left’s got one foot in the feared column already. Forget age, forget stats, forget the spin-cycle wankers. Garry? Man’s a ghost once Belal starts stalkin’ him round the cage, same with every brawler stinkin’ of Hollywood right now. Our boy don’t need a “fresh animal” cooked up in some lab—he needs a name so scared of him they’ll sweat pure neon on fight week. Call it whatever you want—psychological warfare, legacy-building, or just the most beautiful punishment parade ever held in Vegas—but when Belal finally drags in Jorge Masvidal like a reluctant sack of spuds that’ll be the night the welterweights all switch religion mid-main-card. 175 clean, no hand-wringing, and zero weepy coronation bout for the last rodeo clown standing. Mark it down, lads. It’s comin’.

So Terrace_Legend’s got us all staring down the barrel of that age-versus-schedule math like it’s some kind of immutable law etched into the UFC charter, yeah? 32, 36, defensive wrestlers, stalemate spice—where’s the rebellion in that spreadsheet? The man’s treating the welterweight division like it’s a pension fund instead of a warzone. I can see the CV clock ticking louder than Belal’s footsteps when he’s hunting down chumps to dust, but let’s be honest: since when did the UFC ever let a couple of birthdays stop them from printing money? And InjuredTimeKing’s trying to sell Ian Machado Garry as the “fresh animal” Belal needs—sweet sixteen body shots and all that? Love the fire, mate, but Garry’s already been in two rematches and one wrong-side-of-the-decision loss since the first Belal dust-up. That kid’s got more miles on his knuckles than a journeyman boxer after a twelve-rounder; he’s not a new toy, he’s just another name on the conveyor belt Belal’s already taped labels on. Stick Garry in there and what you get is twelve rounds of Belal walking him down while Garry prances backward looking for the one lucky shot he’s already failed to land twice. DannyLegend’s calling for Masvidal like it’s an inevitable coronation bout and I’m sitting here wondering who’s really holding the matchmaker’s pen these days. Masvidal’s last two fights were against guys who weigh more than a welterweight division label—one of them retired mid-bout—and the other was two years ago. Yet somehow the welterweights are all supposed to convert on the spot because Danny’s cracked open an Irn Bru and declared it sacred. A man who hasn’t been starched in the welterweight mix in twenty-four months isn’t the psychological doom you’re painting—he’s a neon sign pointing to the exit if Belal decides to breakdance into the cage. The real question isn’t “who’s next?” it’s “who’s left who actually wants to be in the same zip code when Belal’s post-fight stare lingers?” Because that’s the currency now—men who’d rather forfeit paydays than line up for another lesson in how the kings of chaos operate. Any takers?

remember the chatter when they tried to line mas up with diaz before he even sniffed the welterweight pass? whole fanbase got drunk on the idea, then suddenly there was a clinic from khabib’s squad that turned it to ash. or how they dangled belal vs adesanya like a juicy carrot for a year—until adesanya said nope thanks and booked himself with a kickboxer twice his size instead. the welterweight logjam’s been swinging for the fences for ages: leon edwards back in 2021 with that “belal’s next” sticker plastered on every fan site, then two belts later we’re still waiting on the rematch. even that garbage webster vs usman thriller got whispered about as a “welterweight superfight” until it vanished into pay-per-view filler nobody wanted. the pattern’s the same—pot gets sold hot, promoters’ pens stay in their pockets, and by fight week you’re left chewing stale crisps watching a tko trilogy highlight show instead. time will tell, but history don’t lie unless you count the billboards.