Covington

By FCF Staff

Angered by the fact Kamaru Usman is going to fight Tyron Woodley next, instead of him, Colby Covington has essentially dared Dana White to release him.

For months, Covington has been campaigning hard for a fight with Woodley, and after he defeated Rafael dos Anjos last summer to win the interim 170 title, that match-up looked inevitable. Covington was asked to fight Woodley in September but turned it down, since he was set to undergo nasal surgery. Then more recently, it was reported the UFC wanted Covington to fight Usman at the now cancelled, UFC 233 card last month. Covington held out for a title shot.

Yesterday it was reported that Usman is going to fight Woodley at UFC 235, March 2nd. During an appearance on “The MMA Hour”, an angry Covington said this (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“But let’s be honest: Dana, you don’t got the balls to release me. If you’re saying all of this stuff to the media, then release me. But you ain’t got the balls. You know I’m too valuable.”

“I was in no shape to fight in September in Dallas,” Covington said. “It wasn’t gonna happen, no chance. So if you want to punish me for not fighting in Dallas and [not] turning around on six weeks’ notice when I had surgery and was on every antibiotic and [drug] cocktail underneath the sun, then that’s cool. That’s your business decision. If you want to keep f*cking up your brand and moving shows from one city to another because a guy failed his third steroid test and he’s hitting pregnant ladies [in a] hit-and-run, so be it. I’m the ultimate professional. Show up on time, make weight, do everything they ask of me.

“Fly all over the country, fly all around the world, do whatever they want whenever they want. So, no big deal. If they don’t want a hard-working guy like me, then so be it. Where’s your balls? Show me your balls. If you’re so man[ly], you’re saying in all these videos that you don’t need me and I’m not worth anything and this and that, then let me go.

Usman, meanwhile, has won 9 straight fights now in the UFC, and like Covington, also holds wins over dos Anjos and Demian Maia.