Controversy seems to follow #3 Welterweight Colby Covington everywhere he goes. But it's not all by design.
Covington earned a huge victory over Demian Maia earlier this year in Brazil, and has seen his comments and outside-the-cage activities earn even more publicity. After beating Maia, Covington referred to fans as "filthy" animals, which he tells Fightful.com's James Lynch was justified.
"I reacted to how they were treating me. They treated me like shit. They're yelling at me, saying they were gonna fuck my mom. Saying I'm going to die as I'm walking to the cage, trying to grab my American flag. You don't disrespect my country, you don't know the soldiers who fell down for that flag," Covington said.
"The security was crazy. As soon as I get out of the Octagon, there's twenty security guards covering my head (telling me to sprint). There's a complete tirade in the stands, people throwing five dollar hot dogs. This is a third world poor country. To throw your hot dog, you have to be pretty upset. I'm thankful to be alive.
In the weeks that followed, Covington would be sent to Australia by the UFC. While there, he got in an altercation with show headliner Fabricio Werdum, who threw a boomerang at him. Despite the surprise attack, Covington said that he knew backlash was coming his way from Brazilian fighters. Covington also told us why he went to the police to handle the situation.
"I was expecting it. I know he wants to act like a hero in Brazil. I'm the hottest topic, my name is the biggest name in Brazil whether you wanna like it or not. The most talked about thing. I expected some of the old guys of Brazilian history to act like a hero for their country. It just sucks that I got blindsided. I didn't press charges. The UFC came to me and asked 'What happened? Werdum is saying that you called him a filthy animal and then kicked him and he threw the boomerang at you.' That's a complete fucking lie. I'm sitting outside texting Tyron Woodley to stop being afraid of me and being a little gossip girl and all of a sudden, boom I get hit in the side of the face. It was going to be my word vs. Werdum's word. (I had to) get the tape from the hotel we were staying at. The only way to get the tapes from the fighter hotel was to go to the police...so the story is accurate and I don't look like an idiot. The tape shows what happened. Werdum's a frickin' idiot. You can't come attack someone due to free speech, that's against the law," said Covington. "I had a little mark on my face, it's whatever, he took a little cheap shot at me. I fight for a living. I told Australian police 'hey take it easy on him man, I'm not trying to have him get in trouble.'"
Werdum ended up being given a $600 fine for the situation.
In the full interview, Colby Covington (13-1) discusses his recent Twitter feuds and why he's only interested in fighting Tyron Woodley next. Colby also talks about potentially coaching The Ultimate Fighter, why Rafael Dos Anjos won't fight him and Star Wars spoilers.
