UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington took issue with a tweet by Jon Anik and decided to warn the UFC commentator that “I don’t want your kids to grow up without a dad.”
Belal Muhammad, the fighter Anik mentioned in the initial tweet that earned Covington’s ire, spoke to MMA Fighting and had this to say:
“You’re coming at a guy like Jon Anik, who is the nicest guy in the world, and why? Because Jon Anik gave me an interview?” Muhammad said. “You’re calling him a racist. You’re calling him this and you’re threatening a guy like Jon Anik? I told Jon, I texted Jon and I said I can’t wait to come to Miami in two weeks because I’m cornering my teammate Ignacio Bahamondes, and I wish I see Colby there. I wish that he even looks at Jon in a certain way of disrespect. I swear I’m going to walk right up to him and slap him right in his mouth.
“Because when you’re coming at guys like that, when you just got beat up outside the cage and you’re like, ‘Call the cops!’ — you’re crying and now you’re threatening a commentator, and you’re acting all this tough talk right now to a guy like Jon Anik? It just pisses me off.”
There’s a lot more to the back story here since the UFC has been trying to book Covington vs Muhammad for some time. According to Belal, the promotion wanted to book him and Covington to coach a season of The Ultimate Fighter but Covington declined the opportunity.
Again according to Muhammad, the UFC then tried to book the pair to face off at UFC 286 in London but Covington once again declined.
Muhammad had a few more choice words for the man he can’t seem to find in the Octagon, “Let’s see how tough you are when I come to your city. Let’s see how tough you are when I’m actually in front of you. Let’s see how tough you are when I’m in your face.”