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Firas Zahabi says that’s the consequence of not backing up all that smack talk.
Colby Covington badly lost his UFC 245 title bout against Kamaru Usman this past weekend, sustaining a broken jaw and getting TKO’d in the fifth round. Reactions have been varied, but a good chunk of pro fighters (and even celebrities) have celebrated Covington’s loss.
Firas Zahabi says that Covington will never hear the end of it, and will likely be butchered by fans for years to come. According to renowned MMA coach, that’s to be expected when someone talks that much and fails to back it up in the cage.
“(Covington) openly ran his mouth so much,” Zahabi said on his YouTube channel. “In fighting, when you run your mouth and you win, everybody praises you. The second you run your mouth and you lose, and you get finished? Guess what, all that is coming back times ten. All of it is coming back to you for years and years.
“I’m telling you, you’re never gonna get over it. People are gonna attack him for this loss forever. Why? Because that’s just the way it is in the West. That’s the culture we have. You talk, you better back it up. If you don’t back it up, people are gonna insult you back.”
“Now personally, I don’t like to do that. I don’t think we have to drop to his level. We don’t have to go over ‘it’s fake and it’s just entertainment.’ I get that, but look, the truth of the matter is, he ran out of the Octagon after. He ran out of the arena. He wasn’t going to get no ‘good try, good fight, you did well.’ The fans were gonna butcher him.
“I haven’t looked at the memes today, but I’m sure they’re gonna be all over the place.”
Zahabi has been right, and memes have been aplenty since the bout ended. The hashtag “#MAGAJAW” was even trending on twitter at some point.