Colby Covington unhappy getting passed over for title shot; says UFC can ‘release me’
After Colby Covington defeated Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 225 for the interim welterweight title, it all but secured Covington the next shot at Tyron Woodley for the belt.
Fast forward six months and that is no longer the case. Woodley fought Darren Till at UFC 228 and won via second-round submission. Then, after talks of Woodley vs. Covington at UFC 230 and UFC 233, which neither came to fruition, when Woodley enters the Octagon next, it won’t be against Covington. Rather, Kamaru Usman has gotten the next title shot and will challenge Woodley at UFC 235. That is much to the despair of Covington.
“They made promises that I was going to fight Tyron Woodley in November at Madison Square Garden,” Covington said on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show. “They made promises I was going to fight him January in California. Now all of a sudden I’m getting passed up for a guy behind me that has beaten my sloppy seconds?”
“It makes no sense to me. They are shi*ing on me, they are shi*ing on their fans. They are dulling their product.”
Although Covington has a lot of haters, many fans wanted to see him fight Woodley. The two have a general hatred and both have asked for the fight for months now. With that, fans have said the UFC isn’t treating Covington fair, which Covington agrees with.
“People can relate to my situation. I’ve worked hard for something, I earned something. I put in the time,” Covington said. “I’ve been grinding since I was 7-years-old. This is a lifetime of work. For someone to take away something from me that I earned? It’s not fair.”
Ultimately, Covington said he will only fight for the belt. If the UFC doesn’t like that, well Covington has a simple answer to them.
“I don’t need the UFC, the UFC needs me,” Covington said. “Unless they are calling me for a title shot, I have nothing to say to them. If they want to release me, release me. I’m going to wait to get what I deserved. That’s a title fight. There’s other big fights out there. The options are aplenty for me. I have decisions and choices to make. I’ll go fight anywhere.”
In the end, it will be Usman getting the title shot and Covington being pissed off. He doesn’t care if the UFC releases him as he knows he is the real draw at welterweight.
