UFC 268: Colby Covington walks back Octagon embrace with Kamaru Usman, ‘can’t respect cheating coward’
- Welterweight title challenger appears to show respect to champion Usman at the conclusion of five-round main event
- ‘I can’t respect a guy like that,’ Covington says at post-fight press conference – ‘I got an unfair shake again’
After another war with Kamaru Usman, this one going the full five rounds, Colby Covington seemed to drop character for a brief, heartfelt moment, embracing his great rival at the final buzzer in a show of mutual respect.
“As a person he’s a little rotten,” Usman said at the UFC 268 post-event press conference after retaining his welterweight title in the early hours of Sunday morning. “But I’m not surprised [about the gesture].
“We shared almost an hour with each other inside that cage. I don’t care who you are, there’s mutual respect that just comes alive. That’s the spirit of competition and martial arts ... I’ll leave [what was said] between me and him.”
But it wasn’t long before Covington (16-3) slipped back into his gimmick, sitting down in front of the gathered media after “The Nigerian Nightmare” had come and gone.
“I can’t respect a guy like that,” the 32-year-old American insisted, when asked what was said between him and Usman. “Go look on YouTube – a guy dissected everything that he cheats on. You see the injection marks all over his stomach. That guy’s not a clean fighter. I’m a clean fighter.”
Usman, who was awarded a special jacket this week by Usada after providing his 50th clean sample to the anti-doping body, strengthened his grip on the top spot in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings following his second victory over Covington.
