Colby Covington has received a lot of backlash for his pre-fight antics and in-fight performance against Leon Edwards at UFC 296 earlier this month, but “Chaos” isn’t going to just lay down and take criticism from his peers.
Instead, Covington is defending his UFC 296 performance and talking once again as if he’s still going to be fighting for a world title. In reality, “Chaos” is now far removed from welterweight title contention after looking like a complete shell of his former self opposite Edwards, who handily defeated Covington via unanimous decision to retain his 170-pound crown.
Covington, who is an easy target because of the things he says and does outside of the cage, doesn’t seem to care all that much of what fellow UFC fighters think of him. This includes rising UFC lightweight star, Paddy Pimblett, who destroyed Covington for his pre-fight trash talk before hating on his overall performance at UFC 296.
“I don’t really think about it, but obviously my first reaction to it now is just laughing because all those people, there’s no substance,” Covington said during a recent appearance on the PBD Podcast (via MMA Fighting). “They’re talking the talk, they’re not going to walk the walk.
“Paddy … if he didn’t have a bowl cut and an accent, nobody would care about Paddy. That’s the only reason they like him, is a bowl cut and an accent. He’s not even a good fighter. He’ll never be a top-30 fighter. The closest he’ll ever get to fighting for a world title is if he got on his knees and came and sniffed my jockstrap.”
Pimblett wasn’t the only UFC star to publicly bash Covington. Even UFC lightweight contender, Michael Chandler, joined in on the post-fight action to let “Chaos” know he looked downright awful at UFC 296. Check it out below:
Michael Chandler’s reaction to Colby Covington’s performance at #UFC296
“If Colby’s offense was an accurate depiction of the US military, we would’ve never gotten our independence. Lost World War 1 & lost World War 2” pic.twitter.com/YkP7F8ZDjs
— DJ MurkCity (@myrksitymma) December 17, 2023
“If Colby’s offense was an accurate depiction of the US military, we would’ve never gotten our independence. Lost World War 1 & lost World War 2,” joked Chandler.
As you may have guessed, Covington didn’t enjoy hearing Chandler’s comments. He laid into the former Bellator champion as well while reminding fans of his much-talked-about visit to the White House.
“Michael Chandler?” Covington said. “Who? The guy was getting knocked out in Bellator, the guy’s a complete scrub. What’s his UFC record? Like, 1-4? We’re talking about that. My win percentage in the UFC is over, like, 90 percent, I’m an all-time great in this division. I’ve done things in this division that people aren’t ever going to do.
“I’m the only fighter to ever go to The White House and hang out with a sitting president. I’m the only one to ever get the first family front row. I’m the only one to ever have a president out there supporting me and dapping me up before I walk in the octagon, so he can keep talking all he wants but there’s no substance. Another guy that’s just all talk and no walk.”
Thoughts?