Colby Covington pulled no punches when giving his opinion on the UFC’s top 15 welterweights.
Covington (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) challenges 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+.
Ahead of his third crack at undisputed gold, Covington broke down the best fighters in the welterweight division in a video segment with the UFC. Naturally, he raved about himself.
“No. 1, Colby Covington. The greatest welterweight fighter in the history of the sport,” Covington said. “It’s unprecedented, unmatched what Colby brings to the octagon. He’s unbeatable. He’s the cardio machine. He has a third lung.
“He’s Donald Trump’s favorite fighter. He’s America’s champion, people’s champion. The list goes on and on. The king of Miami, all these titles. I don’t know what to do. My shelf is, like, full. What am I going to do with my undisputed world title Dec. 16?”
As far as what Covington had to say about the rest of the welterweights in the UFC rankings, it went exactly how you’d expect – with the exception of a little bit of love for Gilbert Burns.
You can watch the video and read what Colby had to say about each man below.
Rinat Fakhretdinov
“I swear I’ve never heard of that name in my life. But then again, I don’t pay attention to people who are not in my crosshairs at the top of the mountain. I’ve been at the top of this UFC mountain and this division for like six, seven years. So I’m not paying attention to guys who are just breaking into the rankings now, in the 15 level, because I know I know I’ll never fight them.”
Michael Chiesa
“Guy’s a bum. I don’t even know why they have him in the rankings still. He’s inactive, he barely ever fights, he’s a complete nobody. The guy’s a quitter. I mean, yeah, I don’t even know why he’s in the rankings. The guy is literally a jobber.”
Neil Magny
“Another jobber who should have hung up the gloves a long time ago. He looks like he’s just fighting for a paycheck now. It doesn’t look like the guy that started his career, that had a lot of passion and fire in his soul. I respect him for serving his country and being a great patriot to protect our freedoms here in America, but as far as fighting ability goes, not a good fighter.”
Kevin Holland
“Kevin Holland is the biggest waste of talent I’ve ever seen in my life. The guy’s a complete scrub. Talks such a big game but doesn’t walk or back it up. He got beat up by the 40-year-old Karate Kid, and he wants to talk a big game about the top dogs of the division. Nah, kid. You can’t talk before you’re walking. Go walk before you talk, kid.”
Jack Della Maddalena
“Jack Della ‘Dadmalena’ whatever. Never heard of him.”
Ian Machado Garry
“Ian ‘The Cuck’ Garry. Man, who would take the last name of their wife’s ex-husband and put it as your own last name? Oh my gosh, what a cuck.”
Vicente Luque
“Brain-bleed Luque? Guy’s just a punching bag. He’s just out there getting punched around, getting smacked around because he’s not good enough to be at the top of the division.”
Geoff Neal
“Geoff Neal, the Outback busboy? He’s not a UFC fighter. That guy, he works at Outback Steakhouse, and he does a better job at Outback Steakhouse as a busboy than he does as a UFC fighter.”
Sean Brady
“Honestly, I know nothing about Sean Brady. I think he got knocked out and his hype ended, so I don’t know. He doesn’t seem like a very good fighter.”
Stephen Thompson
“Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, the 41-year-old karate virgin that’s driving kids around in a karate van. What’s so cool about that?”
Shavkat Rakhmonov
“Sh*t-rat Rakhmonov, don’t have much to say about him. Seems like he’s all hype. Hasn’t really fought any of the top dogs in the division. Don’t know anything about the guy, don’t pay attention, he’s not in my crosshairs. So, don’t pay attention.”
Gilbert Burns
“‘Dilbert’ Burns, he’s a lightweight. He’s a lightweight transplant. Shouldn’t be at welterweight, too small, too little. Just not tough enough. Good family man, though. I do respect the guy for being a good family man and being from Bocca. He’s another Florida guy like myself, so don’t have anything too bad to say about him.”
Belal Muhammad
“Belal Muhammad, just a complete scumbag. He should be cut from the UFC roster, and he’s an embarrassment to this sport.”
Kamaru Usman
“‘Marty Fake Newsman,’ No. 1 washed up. The 10 rounds he had to deal with me took the life out of him, took the fight out of him. You could tell he’s just not the same guy. His chin’s kind of gone, doesn’t have that passion, the hunger anymore. Kamaru, you had a great career, but it’s time to retire. The 10 rounds really took it out of you.”
Leon Edwards
“Leon ‘Mumble Mouth Scissor Hands,’ Dec. 16, I’m going to handle you. You’re going back to Hogwarts empty-handed, junior.”
