UFC 268: Colby Covington not impressed by Khamzat Chimaev – ‘he was ready to retire off the common cold’
- Challenger dishes out some trademark trash talk to rivals ahead of welterweight title rematch against Kamaru Usman
- ‘Jorge Masvidal is washed up … I’d love to get my hands on that Louisiana swamp trash [Dustin Poirier],’ says Covington
Colby Covington is back to his trash-talking ways ahead of his rematch with welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 268 on Saturday night in New York City.
The 33-year-old “Chaos” (16-2) first met Usman in December 2019, losing via fifth-round TKO in one of the year’s best fights. The brash contender has been calling for a do-over ever since and has ramped up his trademark verbal barbs as that long-awaited opportunity draws closer.
“We know we‘re going to expose him Saturday night,” Covington said at UFC 268 media day. “I go to bed every single night with revenge on my mind. I realised revenge is a dish best served cold, and I’m going to serve that dish to ‘Marty’ on Saturday night. I’ve got some really bad intentions for him.”
If Covington captures the championship this Saturday, he can anticipate title defences against a parade of dangerous welterweight contenders. Based on his pre-fight comments, though, he doesn’t believe his former training partner Jorge Masvidal or rising star Khamzat Chimaev fall into that category.
“[Masvidal] is washed up,” Covington said of his former friend, who fights Leon Edwards at UFC 269 on December 12, with a title shot potentially on the line. “I saw the discipline and the way he trained for years. The guy’s nothing. He has no skill set.
“[Expletive] Chimaev, he’s got to do a lot more work,” the American said when asked about the undefeated Chechen-born Swede, who was recently sidelined with a complicated case of Covid-19. “You guys hype these guys up real quick, but let’s not forget he was put down by the common cold. He was ready to retire off the common cold.”