Hell might have frozen over as Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman have been uncharacteristically complimentary of each other during UFC 296 fight week.
Covington returns to the spotlight against the champion, Leon Edwards, in what will be his third attempt to capture UFC Welterweight gold this weekend (Sat., Dec. 16, 2023). In his previous two efforts, “Chaos” fell short against Usman in classic 170-pound scraps.
Since they fought each other, Covington last fought and defeated Jorge Masvidal via unanimous decision while Usman lost back-to-back title tilts with Edwards before suffering a short-notice majority decision loss to Khamzat Chimaev in his Middleweight debut at UFC 294 in October 2023. Some within the community believed the fight could have gone either way, however, including Usman’s old rival, Covington.
“I thought he beat him. I thought he beat ‘C—shot’ (Chimaev),” Covington told said at UFC 296 media day (h/t MMA Junkie). “Usman was striking him. I thought he dropped him. ‘C—shot’ was scared to strike with him. He didn’t even hit him once, you know. Look at the significant strikes that were landed.
“If that was a five-round fight, Usman would have destroyed him,” he continued. “He would have finished him in those championship rounds. I thought he looked good. He took it on, what, four or five days’ notice at 185 [pounds] — up a weight class, never fought at that weight class. I thought he beat him.”
In converse of Covington, Usman gave Covington praise earlier in the week when assessing the upcoming Edwards match up. If anyone knows both men best though, it’s Usman, who has had five fights in his career between the two title contestants.
“It was definitely surprising,” Covington said of Usman’s comments. “It caught me off guard. I really don’t know what to make of that. I haven’t really processed it fully, but I can tell you one thing: He spent 10 rounds in that octagon with me and he knows what I’m capable of. He knows the dog that’s inside of me, so he’s only speaking truth and facts, and shoutout to ‘Marty.’”
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