Colby Covington and Gilbert Burns have a lot in common.
Not only did they each lose to Kamaru Usman back when “The Nigerian Nightmare” was still 170-pound champion, both welterweight contenders are now hoping to score another crack at the crown after defeating the since-retired Jorge Masvidal.
Covington is currently ranked three spots above Burns at No. 2.
“Everybody’s complaining. Like dude, go do something for yourself, look in the mirror,” Covington told Submission Radio. “You just beat what, number 12 in the world in Magny? You just beat what, number 11 in the world, the shell of his former self, the guy I retired, Street Judas Masvidal? That’s not deserving of a welterweight title shot, or even to be in a backup position, guys. Numbers never lie. This company’s about selling business, selling tickets and pay-per-views, and he’s not that star yet. So, he’s about two or three fights away from the title fight. But, I look forward to seeing him at the top.”
UFC President Dana White has already named Covington as next fighter in line to challenge Leon Edwards and any chance “Rocky” had of settling his soda with “Gamebred” ended when Masvidal “fumbled the bag” at UFC 287 last weekend in Miami.
And Burns failed to make a statement in “The Sunshine State.”
“[Masvidal] was retired after I beat him, he’s a broken man,” Covington continued. “There’s a reason that he came out and did what he did to me in the streets like a little clown. There’s no pride in that guy. He just didn’t want to have to live the rest of his life knowing that he retired off of getting his ass beat by me. So, of course he’s gonna come and lose to somebody else in the division, because he didn’t want that being over his head that I retired him. But guys, I’ll be honest, I retired Jorge Street Judas last year in 2022 in T-Mobile arena. The guy’s a felon, he’s a criminal, he’s a coward. He’s not a real man. If he was a real man, he wouldn’t have done what he did to me.“
Covington still has an active criminal case against Masvidal after “Gamebred” attacked “Chaos” outside a Miami steakhouse in early 2022, an apparent revenge plot for trash that was talked ahead of UFC 272. A trial is expected to take place a some point later this year.
For more news and notes on UFC 287 click here.