Colby Covington has been campaigning hard to get a rematch with Kamaru Usman. Now he says that if they do not fight inside the Octagon, he will be going to prison for fighting the champ in the streets.
When Usman and Covington faced off for the first time, they were the most bitter of rivals. Their beef turned into an excellent fight, which ultimately ended in a fifth round TKO stoppage win for Kamaru, who retained his welterweight title.
Since that bout, Colby has rebounded with a TKO win of his own, against former champ Tyron Woodley. Now he is gunning for a rematch with the Usman, noting just how closely their first fight was, and the relatively controversial stoppage.
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In The Cage Or In The Streets
As much as Colby Covington wants the rematch with Kamaru Usman, the “Nigerian Nightmare” does not feel the same. He has said that he wants his rival to get another win before earning another crack at welterweight gold, despite his willingness to have a rematch with Jorge Masvidal.
That said, Colby is not very keen on taking no for an answer. Speaking in a recent interview, the number one contender said that if he cannot get Usman or Masvidal to fight him in the cage, he will risk jail time by fighting the champ in the streets.
“Last time I checked, Marty Fakenewsman is not the matchmaker, he’s not Dana White, he’s not the UFC, he doesn’t decide that. I already came back and dusted and finished the guy that he couldn’t finish in Tyron Woodley,” Covington said.
“Let’s be honest guys, I don’t want to get 25-to-life. I just want to fight Jorge Masvidal and Marty Fakenewsman because if I don’t fight them inside the UFC Octagon, I’m getting 25-to-life for fighting them outside the Octagon.”
Colby Covington Says Leon Edwards Should Have Been DQ’d
Another top contender in the welterweight division, Leon Edwards got back to action over the weekend. After his original opponent fell out, it seemed that he would be facing Colby Covington, but instead the UFC booked him against Belal Muhammad.
Unfortunately things would end in a no contest after an eye poke from Edwards forced Belal to be unable to continue. However Colby thinks that this fight should have been a disqualification loss for Leon instead.
“He has a no contest, which by the way, that should have been a disqualification because he did poke the guy in the face in the first round,” Covington said.
“And backstage, I know that Herb Dean gave them the warning, ‘Hey, don’t poke anybody in the eye,’ because that’s the instruction they give every time before you go out for a fight. So, he should have been disqualified. I don’t know how that was a no contest.”
As for why the proposed bout between he and Edwards fell through, Covington says it was all about the dollar signs. The UFC did not want to pay him more money for the short notice fight, so he turned the offer down.
“It’s not gonna be the basic offer that’s already in my contract. If you’re gonna give me the basic offer, I’m gonna take a full training camp and I’m gonna take my time. I’m gonna fight when I want to fight, when my body’s ready to fight,” Covington explained.
“I’m always ready to fight. I strive on excellence and always being in shape and always ready to fight, but I also want to fight at peak performance. There’s peaks and valleys, and I know when to peak and how to have my body ready to peak at the right time. So, if I want to have my body peak at the right time, I need a full training camp.”
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Colby Covington On Polyana Viana Rumors
As it turns out, money was not the only thing that stopped Colby Covington from taking the fight with Leon Edwards. He was also having some… extra training sessions with fellow UFC fighter Polyana Viana.
When Colby uploaded a photo of the two together to his Instagram, looking quite chummy, rumors began to circulate that the pair were seeing each other. While he hesitated to put a label on things, Colby was not afraid to kiss and tell.
“There wasn’t much talks (for the Edwards fight). I was b-lls deep in Polyana Viana, so to get me off the couch on three weeks notice to fight some Leon (Edwards) guy, it was going to be a price tag,” Covington said.
“Everybody’s going to have to use their imagination on that one. I’m not claiming to be her boyfriend, but what’s up with titles these days? Why does there have to be a title? Why can’t two adults just have fun together?
“That’s exactly what we did. We spent a couple days together, had a great time together. I got to work on my bedroom cardio, keeping world class championship form, and that’s that. I’ve got nothing but respect for her and Polyana’s a great girl, beautiful girl.”
What do you make of these comments from Colby Covington? Who would you like to see him fight against in his return to the Octagon?
