UFC 261: Colby Covington goads Jorge Masvidal after Kamaru Usman KO; says he’ll win title rematch

Former interim champ says Usman has nothing to be proud of after beating ‘journeyman’ Masvidal – ‘If I lost next 12 fights, I’d still have a better record’

Covington insists ‘I’ll get my hand raised’ if he fights Usman again, citing improvements in striking after moving to new team

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UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman throws punches in the fifth round with contender Colby Covington in their title fight at UFC 245 in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2019. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:51pm, 25 Apr 2021Updated: 6:51pm, 25 Apr 2021

Suffice to say Colby Covington was not impressed by former teammate Jorge Masvidal’s performance against champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 261 on Saturday.

The former UFC interim welterweight champion, who lost to Usman via fifth-round TKO in what president Dana White called “one of the greatest fights I’ve ever seen” in December of 2019, was cageside in Jacksonville, Florida, and is favoured for the next title shot.

Covington (16-2) has been demanding a rematch with “human trash-bag” Usman (19-1), claiming he won every round of their fight and accusing referee Marc Goddard of “[robbing] me of a fair fight”.

White reiterated that “Chaos: Covington and “The Nigerian Nightmare”, both 33, “is the fight to make” both in terms of merit and hype.

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman front kicks contender Colby Covington in their welterweight title bout at UFC 245 in Las Vegas in December 2019. Photo: AP

“[Usman] took eight minutes longer than it would take if I was in there,” Covington told ESPN after Usman silenced the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena with a second-round KO of Masvidal (35-15).