Colby Covington would love to get his hands on Sean Strickland.
Covington (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) challenges welterweight champion Leon Edwards (21-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 296 headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on ESPN+.
Like Covington, UFC middleweight champion Strickland (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) is not afraid to say what’s on his mind. But Covington is not a fan of Strickland’s persona.
“He’s pretending to be everything he wishes I was,” Covington told Code Sports. “I’d love to slap Sean Strickland around. He’s just a pathetic excuse of a human being. The guy has literally no fricking IQ. The guy’s so f*cking stupid. The things he says, he needs to get his mouth wired shut and I’m the guy to do it. The UFC knows I’m the one that can end these guys that hate the company and they hate the world, so I would love to fight Sean Strickland.”
When asked if he’d fight former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, Covington said he’s only seeking massive fights.
“No, that ship has sailed,” Covington said. “Robert – he lost the title and then he got beat in a contender fight, so he’s just not relevant anymore. He doesn’t make sense for me. I’m the top of the division, I’m about to be welterweight champion of the world. So, I only want the biggest and best fights the UFC has to offer.
“I know they wouldn’t even waste my time and waste their time to try and put that fight together. This is a business ,and they want to make money, so it’s all about making the biggest and best fights for the fans and for the UFC. Whatever the UFC says, they know I’m a yes man, I’m a company man. Whatever they say, Colby Covington will agree on.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 296.
