The controversial but talented UFC welterweight, Colby Covington, is never shy about giving his opinion. Covington believes the UFC made a colossal mistake casting featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega as this season’s Ultimate Fighter coaches. In a recent interview with James Lynch, Covington discussed the reboot of TUF and his disappointment with the coaching […]
The controversial but talented UFC welterweight, Colby Covington, is never shy about giving his opinion.
Covington believes the UFC made a colossal mistake casting featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega as this season’s Ultimate Fighter coaches. In a recent interview with James Lynch, Covington discussed the reboot of TUF and his disappointment with the coaching selection for season 29 of the hit show. (H/T BJPenn.com)
“Yikes. I know Hunter Campbell and Dana White probably had to go behind closed doors and be smacking themselves in the head because you don’t want those two guys as your coaches for your comeback season of The Ultimate Fighter,” Covington said.
Covington’s opinion, however, is not entirely objective. The welterweight admitted he was disappointed that the UFC didn’t offer him an opportunity to coach the show. Covington believes the fans would have preferred him significantly over Volkanovski and Ortega.
“Those guys are going to make a complete mockery of the show. There’s just no entertainment factor there. Those guys, yeah, they’re decent fighters for the little weights, for the little midgets, but they don’t sell.”
Although there were rumors that the UFC was considering booking Covington as a coach on the show against either Jorge Masvidal or Kamaru Usman, neither of those two bookings ever materialized. With season 29 premiering later this week, Covington believes that the decision to highlight featherweights will prove to be detrimental.
“There’s no controversy, there’s no drama, there’s nothing. There’s no storyline. So I feel bad for the show. I wish I could have came back to the show and give the people what they want.”
Covington certainly has a way of bringing attention to himself and could be an entertaining coach. Still, it’s unclear if the UFC is considering a TUF run for him in upcoming seasons.
Do you agree with Colby Covington that he and either Jorge Masvidal or Kamaru Usman should have been the TUF season 29 coaches?
The UFC got its start in a peculiar way. They came out as a very violent Fight Club-type venture with no rules and crazy athletes. Instantly, people either loved or hated the UFC. The term “Human cockfighting” is one that any longtime UFC fan has heard…
The UFC got its start in a peculiar way. They came out as a very violent Fight Club-type venture with no rules and crazy athletes. Instantly, people either loved or hated the UFC. The term “Human cockfighting” is one that any longtime UFC fan has heard before and probably had to defend at one time […]
It looks like the next season of The Ultimate Fighter won’t feature Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal coaching against each other. The UFC welterweight contenders have been throwing barbs at each other over social media for quite some time. While both men have been positioning themselves for another shot at welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, his […]
It looks like the next season of The Ultimate Fighter won’t feature Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal coaching against each other.
The UFC welterweight contenders have been throwing barbs at each other over social media for quite some time. While both men have been positioning themselves for another shot at welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, his recent victories over both of them makes a rematch for either unlikely. However, given their respective rankings, a pairing between the two seems to make sense, and with the UFC looking to reinstate their long-running ‘Ultimate Fighter’ franchise after a nearly three year hiatus, the brash duo seemed like the logical choice to act as coaches. UFC president Dana White even appeared to tip his hand when he said that the coaches for the upcoming season would be from the welterweight division.
Though Covington is apparently on board with the idea, he claims that Masvidal is not. In an interview with Submission Radio, Covington claimed that Masvidal turned down a seven-figure contract to coach opposite him on the upcoming season and eventually face-off at the finale.
“So, the UFC offered him a seven-figure payday, an Ultimate Fighter gig, this heated rivalry,” Covington said. “The only reason I wanted to fight Jorge ‘Street Judas’ Masvidal, we got a vendetta and it needs to be settled, and it’s an easy payday for me, and I was willing to go back. But it’s because of the way he was running his mouth. He said I was fragile, he said he would knock me out, he said he would baptize me to people close to me, you know, saying ‘let’s fight in the parking lot’ in our old gym, let’s go fight in the parking lot at publics, trying to act tough at events in front of Dana. Like, ‘hey, I’ll beat Colby’s ass,’ this and that. That’s the only reason I was willing to go backwards, cause there’s a legitimate personal beef there. This is deeper than just a fight, this is a broken friendship, a complete rivalry now. But what can I do about it? He doesn’t want to fight. He’s scared to fight. He knows what would happen if we fight.”
“So, I gotta move on. I got bigger business to take care of. I don’t need to go back in the rankings anyway I’m the number one welterweight in the world, I’m the number one-ranked, and frankly, I deserve my title shot. Marty Fakenewsman, he got lucky as fuck the first time we fought. I was beating him three to one. The next time we fight, I’m not gotta get poisoned before the fight,” Covington continued. “In the fight, I’m not gonna have Marc Goddard to save him and stop momentum in the fight when I kick him in the liver and they call it a nut shot. That changed the whole momentum of the fight, man. And he had multiple breaks in the fight to catch his wind and regroup and stuff. And it was an early stoppage. I was winning the fight three to one. I want my rematch with Marty. Jorge ‘street Judas’ Masvidal forfeited out of the welterweight tournament, it’s only me and Marty Fakenewsman left at the top of the mountain.”
Covington also said that this was not the first time the UFC tried to bring the Masvidal match-up to fruition. According to ‘Choas’, the fight was initially planned to take place in December or January, but the UFC was unable to make contact that Masvidal’s camp.
“After I fought Woodley, Dana White, Hunter Campbell called me, they wanted to get the fight done in December/January,” the former interim welterweight champion explained. “I was on board, I agreed, I put the pen to paper. But Jorge Masvidal was nowhere to be found. He was hiding. Him and Malki were hiding. They want nothing to do this me. They know what happens when they fight me, it doesn’t end well for them.”
“So, they’ve been ducking me, and they [the UFC] wanted that fight then,” Covington insisted. “And then after he turned down January, they were like, ok, well let’s do the Ultimate Fighter. You know, we can start taping in May, you guys fight as the pay-per-view main event at the end of it in June. And it would have been perfect because I am Jorge Masvidal’s father and I know Father’s Day is in June, so it would have been a two-for-one special. I would have beat his ass, spanked my little son and I would have got a happy Father’s Day.”
While Covington and Masvidal appear on the outside to be on a collision course with each other, that is apparently not the case when it comes to getting the contract signed. The winner of a potential fight between the two would almost assuredly be guaranteed a title shot in their next fight though, which is what both men claim in their ultimate goal. Hopefully Dana White and company can figure out a way to put the pairing together, and maybe even appear on the Ultimate Fighter. The pre-fight trash talk alone is sure to be worth the price of admission.
Do you think Jorge Masvidal is ducking Colby Covington? Who should coach on the new season of TUF? Let us know!
Bantamweight prospect Macy Chiasson is getting right back on the horse after suffering her first career loss, and she will be doing so against a former UFC champion. Much like Macy Chiasson, inaugural UFC women’s flyweight champion Nicco Montano is loo…
Bantamweight prospect Macy Chiasson is getting right back on the horse after suffering her first career loss, and she will be doing so against a former UFC champion. Much like Macy Chiasson, inaugural UFC women’s flyweight champion Nicco Montano is looking to get back in the win column, but only one of the two women […]
Former TUF cast member Alex Schoenauer is now a stuntman and one of his auditions didn’t go as planned. According to a report by TMZ, Schoenauer was shot from the back with live ammunition while auditioning for “SEAL Team” back in September 2018 in Southern California. Schoenauer claims he was told to to burst through […]
Former TUF cast member Alex Schoenauer is now a stuntman and one of his auditions didn’t go as planned.
According to a report by TMZ, Schoenauer was shot from the back with live ammunition while auditioning for “SEAL Team” back in September 2018 in Southern California. Schoenauer claims he was told to to burst through a door with a stuntwoman while both of them were carrying semi-automatic assault rifles. When the stuntwoman fired her gun, he was struck through the upper back.
He has now filed a lawsuit against JMP Productions and everyone involved including the stunt co-ordinator, who he claims arranged for there to be live ammo, as well as the stuntwoman.
According the lawsuit, the bullet exited through his upper arm/shoulder. The injuries weren’t life threatening, but per TMZ, the 43-year-old did “suffer nerve damage and range of motion loss in his left arm from the injury.”
Schoneauer retired from mixed martial arts in 2009 with a 15-10 record. He was notably a cast member of the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter.
Kelvin Gastelum has a firm grasp on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) and the purpose it has served for the UFC. Gastelum won TUF 17 when he defeated Uriah Hall via split decision. He has gone on to defeat some of the biggest names at both 170 and 185 pounds. Several years later, Gastelum has now […]
Kelvin Gastelum has a firm grasp on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) and the purpose it has served for the UFC.
Gastelum won TUF 17 when he defeated Uriah Hall via split decision. He has gone on to defeat some of the biggest names at both 170 and 185 pounds. Several years later, Gastelum has now coached on both TUF Latin America, and TUF’s most recent season, TUF 28. Gastelum coached opposite upcoming opponent, UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.
Speaking to media recently to promote the fight, Gastelum was asked about his experience on TUF. The former tournament winner said he believes the show has served its purpose after all these years, and expects the promotion to make some changes to the program moving forward (via My MMA News):
“I definitely think there should be some sort of feeding program for the UFC, like The Ultimate Fighter has been but I think The Ultimate Fighter has served its purpose,” Gastelum said. “Maybe [they] need to do something similar but different. I think people are kind of over the reality show thing.
“I think people just want to see the fights. I think that’s what’s going to happen. I think the UFC needed The Ultimate Fighter and I felt like it’s a big staple of the UFC and a reason why the UFC is where it’s at today but I think they need to change it up a little bit. I think they will.”
Gastelum earned his UFC middleweight title opportunity after picking up back-to-back victories. He defeated both Michael Bisping and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza before earning a title bout. Gastelum will certainly have his hands full against Whittaker, who hasn’t lost in nine fights.
This will be the Aussie’s first official title defense, as his previous opponent, Yoel Romero, missed weight. As a result, their fight was simply a five-round main event. Should both fighters make weight for the fight, it will be Whittaker’s first career title defense.
UFC 234 goes down live from the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia tomorrow (Sat. February 9, 2019).
It looks like the next season of The Ultimate Fighter won’t feature Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal coaching against each other. The UFC welterweight contenders have been throwing barbs at each other over social media for quite some time. While both men have been positioning themselves for another shot at welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, his […]