Ahead of his incoming welterweight title fight with Leon Edwards at UFC 296 this weekend, former interim gold holder, Colby Covington claims he will not fight Belal Muhammad following his championship fight return this weekend – labelling the surging contender as a “racist”.
Covington, the current number three ranked welterweight contender, has been sidelined since he featured against former two-time championship chaser, Jorge Masvidal back in March of last year, landing a one-sided unanimous decision win over his former training partner in the pair’s long-anticipated pairing.
As for Muhammad, the current number two rated challenger has enjoyed a splendid 10-fight winning streak since 2019, most recently defeating one-time title challenger, Gilbert Burns back in May in Newark, New Jersey in the co-main event of UFC 288 over the course of five rounds.
Colby Covington refuses to fight Belal Muhammad after UFC 296
And ramping up his rivalry with the surging, Muhammad, Covington, who sported a Donald Trump-themed suit to yesterday’s media day ahead of UFC 296, described the former as a “racist” – before shutting down any notion of a future title showcase between the two.
“No, who wants to fight a racist?” Colby Covington told assembled media of Belal Muhammad ahead of UFC 296. “I mean, could you imagine if I said someone earned something off of the color of their skin? That’s absolutely despicable, it’s disgusting. That guy hasn’t deserved anything. I mean, it’s not my fault that he’s not a star. You have to make yourself a star.”
“I’m the one that went out there and di the things that needed to be done to become a superstar like I have,” Colby Covington explained. “What has he done? He hasn’t done anything. He’s out there race baiting. Saying, oh, he only earned this because of the color of his skin, it’s white privilege. Are you f*cking kidding me, dude? He’s not getting a title shot. There will be no title shot for him.”
Would you like to see Colby Covington fight Belal Muhammad after UFC 296?