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UFC welterweight Colby Covington says a lot of really dumb stuff.
And, despite the fact that he’s undoubtedly an extremely talented fighter, it’s perhaps because he says a lot of dumb stuff that he’s currently the No. 1 contender for Leon Edwards’ championship.
That doesn’t sit particularly well with a number of fans and fighters.
One of those fighters, in particular, is fellow welterweight contender Belal Muhammad.
Muhammad is currently on a 10-fight unbeaten run, which includes nine victories and a no contest (due to an eye poke) against Edwards. He has not lost a fight in over four years and many, including Muhammad himself, believe he should be the No. 1 contender, not Covington.
Covington, however, thinks he deserves the title shot. That’s despite not fighting since March of 2022. Which is why he’s been critical of Muhammad.
Unsurprisingly, that didn’t sit well with Muhammad, who fired back on Tuesday.
“I think Colby is nervous,” Muhammad told MMA Fighting. “He saw me win this fight, and he’s like, ‘Oh crap, maybe I’m losing my shot, maybe Dana White will change his mind,’ or something like that, especially if Leon wants to fight in Abu Dhabi.
“Now, he’s trying to pull strings like, ‘He has to fight again, he’s not a star.’ I’m like, bro, what did your pay-per-view against [Jorge] Masvidal do? The people you fought are the ones that raised the pay-per-view stock. You’re just a clown where people are like, maybe he’ll do something crazy when he headlines, and maybe [Donald] Trump comes to the fights, so let’s give him a title shot. There’s nothing special about him.
“But I think he sees that I just won this fight and the world sees I’m on a 10-fight winning streak, took a fight on three weeks’ notice, went out there and beat the No. 5 [ranked] fighter in the world. [Colby’s] last win is against No. 12 in the world, and he couldn’t finish him and he almost got knocked out. So now he’s like, ‘Let me do 10 interviews in a row real quick and try to get some headlines.’ He’s getting a little bit desperate, and that’s what I like. I like that little fear in him.”
Those are some serious accusations from Muhammad. But he may well have a point. Covington’s last win came against Jorge Masvidal, who has since retired. In fact, his last three wins are over fighters that have since announced their retirement.
Maybe Muhammad is right?