NEW YORK – Though swollen and sliced, UFC 268 headliner Colby Covington spoke to reporters after the conclusion of Saturday’s event despite his loss to Kamaru Usman.
Twice Covington (16-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) has contended for UFC gold, and twice he has come up short against Usman (20-1 MMA, 15-0 UFC). But his confidence and persona hasn’t faltered. As he sat at the podium, he wore a black NYPD hat and a pair of sunglasses.
As is the case with most fighters, Covington spoke about his performance hours prior. However, without even a prod, Covington focused his attention on what’s next. His old friend and teammate Jorge Masvidal is in his crosshairs.
” I’ll fight whoever it takes to get back (to a title shot),” Covington told MMA Junkie at a post-fight news conference. “I think the most logical step is the heated rivalry with me and my old roommate ‘Street Judas’ (Jorge) Masvidal.”
One obstacle currently in Covington’s path to a fight against Masvidal (35-15 MMA, 14-9 UFC), is that “Gamebred” already has a fight on the books. On Dec. 11 at UFC 269, Masvidal takes on fellow top contender and rival Leon Edwards. In Covington’s mind, there is a simple solution for the delay.
“He should probably pull out of that fight with Leon Scott and we should just run it,” Covington said. “Let’s run it in the first quarter of the first part of the year and let’s do it. That’s a heated rivalry, man. He talked so much sh*t in the media and said so many things about me. Look what happened when he fought ‘Marty.’ He got dusted. If he fought me, he’d get dusted even worse and it wouldn’t even be competitive. So I just want to hold these people accountable for the way they run their mouth in the media. It makes sense. If he goes ahead with that Leon Scott fight, then Hunter Campbell, I just pray to you. Please, God, don’t cut him after that third loss in a row. Keep him around and let me be the one who ends his career.”
Covington and Masvidal were longtime friends and sparring partners at American Top Team (ATT) in Coconut Creek, Fla. As Covington rose through the welterweight rankings, however, so did tensions in the gym. The two quickly switched from friends to enemies when Masvidal took exception to Covington’s “gimmick” taking things to an extent he saw as too far.
“Yeah, just because it’s just such a personal rivalry,” Covington said. “He’s said so many things about me in the media. He said I was a fragile guy. That guy is the most fragile guy on the roster. Is he awake yet? Dude, he got dusted, dude. Unconscious, dude. You’ll never see me in the octagon like that. I’m getting better every single day. You haven’t seen the last of me. I’m going to get that UFC title. I don’t care who I have to go through or what I have to do. I know I’m the best fighter in the world. I know I’m going to be able to claim that gold someday.”
UFC 268 took place Saturday at Madison Square Garden. The main card streamed on ESPN+ pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN News/ESPN+.
