UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman believes Colby Covington was being strategic with his recent revelations.
Although it was reported in the past, Covington revealed in a recent interview that the threat of being cut by the UFC — while he was on a winning streak — was why he decided to take on a heel persona and get attention.
The Colby Covington origin story #UFC245 pic.twitter.com/ej68Thyepm
— Borrachinha Depot (@FullContactMTWF) December 8, 2019
Whether those claims are true or not, it certainly worked in the end as “Chaos” is one of the most hated yet talked about fighters in the promotion today.
Following the interview, some people forgave Covington’s antics as they believe he is simply doing what he needed to do to get money in his bank account.
Others, like Usman, believe he made that revelation for other reasons, especially with their UFC 245 welterweight title fight coming up this weekend.
“This is my point right now. He’s not going to get away with this,” Usman said on the TSN MMA Show recently. “He’s trying to find a way out right now. These are all excuses — he’s putting up the excuse now, he’s trying to find a way out that ‘hey, when this doesn’t go my way, I was just putting on an act. Guys, don’t hate me, I was just putting on an act.’ No. No. You chose to do that. You’re a grown man. You have your own mind, your own sense — you chose to do that. Don’t come out here and say you’re putting on a character now for the people just because you don’t want everybody to hate you after I sleep you this weekend.
“No, don’t put that character on. Be the guy. You became this character, you were fully into it. You have no respect for anybody, any culture, anything, any gender. So be that guy. You don’t see The Rock coming out and saying ‘hey guys, I’m just Dwayne Johnson. I’m just pretending to be The Rock.’ No. He’s the character.”
UFC 245 on Saturday could determine if Covington’s character arc will finish or go into overdrive.
I asked Kamaru Usman about this clip of Colby Covington on the Candace Owens Show:
"He's not going to get away with this. He's trying to find a way out right now." https://t.co/JgVV7Bm9tB pic.twitter.com/50UJem2Zx1
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) December 9, 2019
