No. 2 ranked welterweight contender Colby Covington seemingly threatened UFC commentator Jon Anik‘s life over Anik’s support of No. 4 ranked Belal Muhammad.
Covington weighed in as a backup for the UFC 286 main event between champion Leon Edwards and former titleholder Kamaru Usman. Following the weigh-in, Anik made a tweet in support of Muhammad.
“Understand acutely why Colby Covington was the back-up but hard not to feel for @bullyb170! 9-fight unbeaten streak. Hasn’t lost in 4-plus years. Just KO’d a previously undefeated fighter. The man deserves his respect and I don’t say that b/c he hosts a podcast w/ my twin bro,” Anik wrote on Twitter.
Understand acutely why Colby Covington was the back-up but hard not to feel for @bullyb170! 9-fight unbeaten streak. Hasn’t lost in 4-plus years. Just KO’d a previously undefeated fighter. The man deserves his respect and I don’t say that b/c he hosts a podcast w/ my twin bro.
— Jon Anik (@Jon_Anik) March 17, 2023
During an interview with MMAFighting, Covington called Muhammad a ‘racist,’ and then threatened Anik’s life for his support of the No. 4 ranked welterweight contender.
“You’re not talking Belal, you’re talking the racist. That guy is so beyond racist, like, everything he does is racist, the guy’s a freaking joke. He’s saying I’m in this position because of my skin color, because I’m white? That’s clear racism,” said Covington.
“And you know who’s hanging out and associating with that racist? Jon Anik,” continued Covington. “Jon Anik, you know, supports that racism. He’s (Anik) supposed to be impartial, he’s supposed to have that headset, he’s supposed to be an interviewer, he’s supposed to remain impartial… You want to be a cheerleader? Put down the headset, pick up the pom-poms, go on the side, and be a cheerleader.”
“And Jon Anik, dude, I don’t want your kids to grow up without a dad, just realize you live in Boca (Raton), I live in Miami motherf**ker, you’re not too far from me, so you better shut your f**king mouth. You poke the bear, now you get the bear comes after you.”
Covington himself has been accused of being a racist. After his win over Demian Maia in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 2017, Covington called Brazil a ‘dump’ and then said, ‘All you filthy animals suck.’
Colby Covington appears to threaten Jon Anik’s life