Colby Covington defended Conor McGregor after UFC 329 ended with a knee injury, then turned his answer toward Dustin Poirier.
Speaking with MMA Fighting before RAF 11, Covington was asked about McGregor’s 69-second loss to Max Holloway, the reaction to the injury, and Poirier’s criticism afterward. Covington faces Arman Tsarukyan on July 18 in Milwaukee, but the McGregor/Poirier rivalry became part of his fight-week interview.
Covington Says McGregor Still Drove UFC 329 Business
McGregor’s comeback ended almost immediately. Covington still pointed to the gate, ticket sales, and arena reaction before saying he would not pile on after the injury.
“McGregor, he’s the biggest star the sport’s ever seen,” Covington said. “He sold a lot of tickets. I think it was the highest gate the UFC’s ever seen, so he boosted the economy for the UFC and for Vegas. Good on him for doing that. The excitement, the electricity that he brings to a UFC arena, that can’t be understated.”
The Holloway rematch was McGregor’s first fight since July 2021, when his trilogy with Poirier ended after McGregor broke his leg at UFC 264. McGregor has since asked for the Holloway loss to be changed to a no contest, while the official result remains a first-round TKO for Holloway.
Poirier and McGregor already have one of the UFC’s defining rivalries. McGregor stopped Poirier at UFC 178 in 2014, Poirier knocked him out at UFC 257 in January 2021, and Poirier won the UFC 264 trilogy when the leg injury ended the fight after one round.
Covington Attacks Poirier’s Response
Poirier criticized McGregor after the Holloway loss. Poirier later questioned whether McGregor is still addicted to fighting or only the spotlight. Covington answered by bringing up Poirier’s own recent fallout and their long-running bad blood.
“McGregor’s still a first-ballot Hall of Famer and the biggest star the sport’s ever seen, so I’m not going to kick him while he’s down,” Covington said. “I’m not going to be like that fraud Dustin soy boy, Louisiana swamp trash Poirier. I’m not going to kick him while he’s down, especially a guy that made Dustin’s career.”
Covington then brought up Poirier’s airport arrest fallout, a subject McGregor had already used against Poirier. Covington said McGregor’s warning looked different after Poirier criticized him.
“He was giving Dustin great advice,” Covington said. “He said, ‘Bro, get this in control, otherwise your life’s going to spiral out of control.’ You see Dustin, he’s cussing at a cop, and then calling the little desk ladies that are just sitting there minding their own business, doing their job, calling them hoes multiple times. It’s disgusting.”
“Dustin Poirier is the biggest fake nice guy I’ve ever seen in my life, and I’ve been telling people for years,” Covington said. “I’ve been saying Dustin’s a fake nice guy. He plays the nice guy on camera, but off camera, he’s a piece of s*** person.”
Covington also mocked Poirier’s public explanation for the arrest.
“Now that I think of it, Conor’s loss is because of Dustin’s dad’s fault,” Covington said. “Everything that Dustin was saying was his dad’s fault. He wasn’t taking any blame, no accountability. He said, ‘All this is because of my dad. Oh, my dad this.’ Taking no accountability for his own actions, just blaming it all on his dad.”
Covington Believes McGregor Fights Again
Covington said McGregor still has a reason to return once he gets through the knee injury and surgery. He pointed to the final fight on McGregor’s UFC contract and the structure that fighting gives him.
“I do think Conor fights again,” Covington said. “He still has that fire and he still wants to compete. He has his last fight on his UFC contract, so I’m sure he wants to fulfill that and then see what the future holds for himself.”
“Conor, he needs fighting,” Covington said. “He really does to keep structure in his life, to keep everything sane in his mind. Fighting’s good for Conor. He needs that structure.”
Covington has his own immediate assignment before any more McGregor talk. His RAF 11 match with Tsarukyan now carries crossover title stakes, and the July 18 card comes one week after McGregor’s return turned into another medical setback.
McGregor has said surgery and one final UFC fight are next. Covington expects him to take that fight and framed Poirier’s reaction as unnecessary after McGregor’s injury.
