Colby Covington drops three names for next UFC fight including Nate Diaz

Colby Covington would like to get back in the UFC Octagon with a notable name in early 2026.

Covington hasn’t seen action since he was defeated by Joaquin Buckley via doctor’s stoppage in late 2024. “Chaos” is hoping to waste as little time as possible in 2026 to get active again.

During an interview with The Schmo, Covington said he doesn’t want to wait for the UFC White House card (h/t MMAJunkie).

“I’d like to fight before (the White House event). I’d like to get a fight in January, February,” Covington told The Schmo. “We’ve been talking, so hopefully they can put an opponent together that makes sense for the company. I’d like to get a little warm-up fight before then and then fight at the White House, second fight of the year.”

As far as who he’d like to mix it up with, among the notable names Covington mentioned was Nate Diaz.

“There’s some interesting guys out there,” Covington said. “Some guys like Gilbert Burns makes sense, Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, (Nate) Diaz is always fun. Not Nick (Diaz), because he’s on his episode and I want to see him get healthy. But maybe Nate comes back – you never know. I just want big fights and guys that are legends of the game.”

Diaz isn’t under contract with UFC at the moment. The Stockton native has fought in boxing matches outside of the promotion and is open to other offers if the situation is right. He once vowed to return to UFC, but he has admitted that he doesn’t feel excited about the thought of facing anyone in the promotion.

Many believe if Diaz is to return to UFC, it would have to be a trilogy fight against Conor McGregor. As for Thompson and Burns, those are more realistic options for Covington’s next fight.