Tag: Kamaru Usman

Former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington is getting fed up of Kamaru Usman’s lack of activity and expects him to get stripped of his title.

Usman won the welterweight title when he outclassed Tyron Woodley over five rounds at UFC 235 in March. He was then expected to defend his newly-won title in a grudge match against Covington.

However, over three months on from his win over Woodley, there has been no real progress towards making that fight happen. For his part, Usman is recovering from injuries and recently claimed he was hoping to return before the end of the year. “The Nigerian Nightmare” also had doubts about whether Covington would accept a fight with him.

Covington, though, claims it is Usman who is delaying the fight by continuously trying to negotiate with the UFC.

“I’ve been presented contracts [for] as early as June in Chicago,” Covington said in a recent interview with Helen Yee. “Then they talked about July in International Fight Week in Vegas. Then they talked about Australia, they talked about Abu Dhabi. They’ve talked about everywhere. It’s all on his side.

“He’s trying to negotiate with the UFC, but he’s finding out that no one cares about him. Nobody’s interested in him as a fighter so he’s not going to be able to negotiate and get leverage like he thinks he is.”

Usman Getting Stripped?

Covington ideally wants to fight at New York’s Madison Square Garden where the UFC is expected to go for their annual November visit. “Chaos” also expects to be fighting for a title even if it’s not against Usman — which means the champion could be stripped of his belt.

“Absolutely [he will be stripped]. November will be eight or nine months since he’s fought. How much more time does he need?” Covington added. “He’s just pushing it back, pushing it back, trying to negotiate and not fight.

“He’s not here to make this division great again like I am. They might strip him of his number one contender belt, I don’t really care. I got the real world championship and I’m going to fight for another world championship in November.“

The post Colby Covington Expects Kamaru Usman To Get Stripped Of Title appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has yet to make his first title defense after defeating Tyron Woodley for the gold this past March.

“The Nigerian Nightmare” has been dealing with a string of injuries; as he recently underwent surgery for a double hernia, and is currently rehabbing an injured knee that was aggravated during his fight with Woodley.

As he tells MMA Fighting, however, Usman plans to be back in action before the end of the year (via MMA Mania):

“First of all, the most important thing is my health,” Usman said. “I had a pretty significant surgery after my last fight so I want to get back to the point where I can be in the gym and start training. Then I can become the active and dominant champ that I want to be.

“We’re talking some contracts that need to be worked out, we’re talking about logistics of where the fight can take place, and the most important is my injury. By the end of the year, I should be fighting again, for sure.”

No fight for Usman has officially been announced as of this writing. However, UFC President Dana White has confirmed that Colby Covington will be Usman’s first challenger.

There is plenty of bad blood between Covington and the champion, which should make for good fun in the build-up to the bout.

The post Kamaru Usman Expects UFC Return Before End Of The Year appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Former interim UFC welterweight champion Colby Covington will likely be receiving the next shot at the title.

Kamaru Usman captured the 170-pound throne by defeating Tyron Woodley at UFC 235 in March. Covington was cageside for the bout, and UFC President Dana White has said “Chaos” will be Usman’s first challenger. A fight date has not been set as of this writing.

Recently, Usman’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, spoke to MMA Junkie about the match-up against Covington. Abdelaziz noted that, if fans were impressed with Usman’s dominant showing against Woodley, they’re going to be even more impressed by what he does to Covington:

“Wait ’til you see what he’s going to do to Colby,” Abdelaziz said. “You think (the win over Woodley was) impressive? I think it’s going to be so much more impressive when he’s going to beat Colby.

“It’s going to be so much worse for Colby because stylistically, he’s the worst matchup for Colby. And he’s smart to avoid him for a long time. You think he knows what Usman is going to do to him? I can’t wait, but it’s all good.”

The trio of Abdelaziz, Usman, and Covington were involved in an altercation at a Las Vegas casino buffet line the day after UFC 235. A scuffle nearly broke out, which Abdelaziz himself played a role in. There is certainly no love lost between Covington and the duo of Abdelaziz and Usman.

So much so that Abdelaziz said Usman is going to make Covington suffer inside the Octagon, and “drink his own blood”:

“Suffer,” Abdelaziz said. “Drink his own blood, swallow his own tongue, dig his own grave. That’s what’s going to happen.”

The post Quote: Colby Covington Will ‘Drink His Own Blood’ When He Fights Kamaru Usman appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.