Colby Covington has broken his silence on being passed over for the next UFC welterweight title shot.
And not surprisingly, “Chaos” is not happy. The outspoken contender used his mouth and his skills to win the interim title from Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 225 last year. It was expected he would challenge champ Tyron Woodley for the title next. But Covington declined to fight when the UFC asked him to face Woodley at September’s UFC 228, citing a sinus issue. That left Darren Till to take his spot, and Woodley soundly trounced the Liverpudlian.
It was thought Woodley vs. Covington would still be next, but things got extremely messy. Woodley needed surgery for a thumb injury and the division was left waiting, but not for long. Rising contender Kamaru Usman beat dos Anjos at the TUF 28 Finale to put his name in the title mix. “The Nigerian Nightmare” got the fight when Woodley vs. Usman was announced as
A Victim of ‘Politics’
Covington is not happy about what has transpired. The former interim champ appeared on ‘Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show’ today to break his silence on the booking. According to him, he was a victim of in-house politics. In his eyes, both Dana White and the UFC lied to him:
But the discord didn’t stop there. When White berated Covington for not accepting the fight at UFC 228, he claimed doctors would not clear him. He also said the UFC owes him money for being a guest fighter in Australia. Perhaps most importantly, Covington hasn’t been able to get ahold of Dana White since Woodley vs. Usman was announced:
White has often spoken up about Covington not taking the opportunity when he had the chance, but ‘Chaos’ begs to differ. He said he even accepted a fight with Nick Diaz last November even though it didn’t make sense:
Finally, the biggest tidbit of information surfaced. Covington claimed that the UFC wanted to cut him after his one-sided win over former title contender Demian Maia. With their relationship on shaky ground, Covington hinted he would take his services elsewhere:
It sounds like the working relationship between Covington and the UFC is beginning to sour quickly. That’s quite the departure from Covington’s trash talk-fueled rise to title contention early last year. For now, he’s left out in the cold, and it’s unknown if he’ll even be offered another title shot.
A few more interviews like these, and you can probably rest assured he won’t be. Will ‘Chaos’ truly leave the UFC?
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