Yaroslav Amosov entered the UFC like a man in a hurry. One fight in, and he already had Neil Magny tapping, a debut that immediately informed the division that he isn’t here to “gain experience.” Amosov made it clear that he is after gold, and with Islam Makhachev sitting on the welterweight throne, the path will inevitably lead to him.

But after putting his name in the title conversation, ‘Dynamo’ aimed not only upward but also sideways. Because welterweight isn’t just packed with contenders right now, it’s packed with personas. And in his eyes, nobody represents the fake side of modern MMA louder than Colby Covington. So, instead of calling him out as a fighter, he targeted his entire shtick.

Yaroslav Amosov claims Colby Covington’s clout is fake

Yaroslav Amosov’s main message was about authenticity. He stated that the most important thing in combat sports is to be yourself, because trying to imitate someone else’s character makes you appear silly. And he highlighted Colby Covington as the perfect example.

“The main thing is to be yourself. That’s the most important thing because when you try to be like Colby Covington, for example, you look at him and think, ‘What a complete idiot,’ and you wonder how can that be,” Amosov stated in his interview with Fight Zona. The fact that ‘Dynamo’ didn’t characterize it as rivalry talk added to its impact.

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He made it sound like a real reaction after studying the man. Yaroslav Amosov revealed that he trained with Colby Covington a long time ago and became curious enough to investigate what he was all about. He claimed to have browsed about and studied him before coming to the harsh conclusion that “even Americans don’t like him, and not many people know him.”

Then he moved the conversation into allegation territory. “I went on Instagram, looked at how many followers he had, browsed around, and observed. I realized that he had fake followers,” he alleged.

And as he looked into the engagement, he claimed it felt much more evident, “Then I looked at his likes. I realized that nobody likes him, and he just looks like a fool.” It’s a new type of trash talk—not about wrestling or cardio, but about relevancy. Colby Covington’s entire career has been built around being loud enough to be unavoidable.

‘Dynamo’ basically claimed the opposite: everything is inflated, purchased, and performed. And for a new contender trying to reach Islam Makhachev, that is the true point of the insult. Yaroslav Amosov isn’t just throwing shade; he is drawing a line. Characters can keep chasing attention. He’s chasing the belt.

However, he will need at least a couple more UFC wins to put himself in the welterweight title mix. Something he is clearly working on actively by chasing rivalries with the likes of Colby Covington. But will we get to see a bout between the two? That seems like a tough task for the matchmakers, especially considering the fact that ‘Chaos’ is looking to make a significant change in his career.

Colby Covington teases a shift to middleweight

That’s what makes Yaroslav Amosov’s pursuit of this fight tricky—Covington may not even stay around 170 for long enough to matter. After years of being a permanent fixture in welterweight drama, ‘Chaos’ is now speaking like a man looking for a fresh start and bigger names, not another contender trying to climb past him.

Covington, who just defeated Luke Rockhold at RAF 05, seems to be considering a move up. He stated that welterweight does not have enough “stars” and suggested that shifting divisions may be the only way to land the types of matches that still excite him. And the targets he named were obvious headline picks.

In true Colby form, he didn’t frame it as a challenge but as a career choice to face Israel Adesanya. “A former champion like myself, someone that generates hype, has a following, has a platform and a brand. So, I think the Izzy fights make a lot more sense than anything, and it’s someone I don’t really like,” the former interim welterweight champion told Submission Radio.

He also mentioned Sean Strickland, stating, “Oh yeah, I would love that fight. He’s a cardio kickboxer, man. I’ll beat him everywhere.” If Colby Covington really moves to middleweight, Amosov’s calls for him to fight at welterweight may become precisely what he accused ‘Chaos’ of being: noise without a real fight attached.