UFC rivals Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington almost come to blows at chaotic press conference ahead of UFC 268 showdown.
In the end, it was the champ who broke first.
Could you blame him?
Probably not.
Yet as Kamaru Usman, the UFC welterweight king, company’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, and a man now edging closer to greatest of all time status stared down arch rival Colby Covington in New York on Friday, it was he who quit on protocol and shoved his outspoken rival backwards.
Cue madness.
“You’re dead mother … er,” shouted Covington, who had arrived for the UFC 268 press conference some 40 minutes earlier decked out in a suit coloured pink, blue and paired with giant chain, gold sunglasses and no shirt.
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“You’re gunna die. You are never going to fight again.”
Which is some statement, sure.
Yet earlier, with microphone in hand? Depending on your take, it was better – or worse – again.
With the lippy American challenger, a fella who has waited two years for this Sunday’s rematch (AEST), not only spouting his usual rhetoric about the champ being a coward, a drug cheat and fake, but also taking aim at Usman’s father Muhammad — who served 10 years in prison for multiple counts of health care fraud.
Elsewhere, ‘Chaos’ likened one journalist, dressed in pink, “to a bottle of Pepto Bismol”, demanded another do 10 push ups, while also praising police, denouncing president Joe Biden, even cuddling Chinese fighter Zhang Weili, seated to his left.
All of which, however, was essentially a side note to his continually trying to bait a champion who has now racked up 14 straight wins inside the UFC – or only two off record holder, Brazilian legend Anderson Silva.
“Hey Marty,” Covington shouted, “is your daddy the jailbird coming on Saturday night?
“Breathe,” the champ replied.
But Covington, he didn’t.
Not for all 40 minutes this thing went.
“Do you want me to call his parole officer and make sure he can come along?” Covington continued. “Do you want me to make sure?
“I feel so bad for Mrs Usman.
“Think about it. She’s got a cheating ass son, she’s got a scammer ass husband, it must be shitty in that household.”
At which point, Usman reminded his rival about the small matter of breaking his jaw – a claim Covington has continually denied — when the pair first challenged for the UFC title two years ago.
“What?” Covington responded. “The only thing broken was you broke your daddy out of jail.”
To which Usman then continued: “Oh really? OK. Why did you go back to your corner at the end of the third round and tell them ‘I think my jaw is broken’?
“Because you wanted them to save you. You wanted a way out.”
Of course, history now shows Covington would fight on, broken jaw or not, until the fifth, when a sustained, and violent, flurry of punches from Usman would eventually see referee Marc Goddard wave everything off.
But this press conference? For a time, there seemed no end.
At one point, Usman was asked to size the real estate he now owned in Covington’s head.
“I’ve been living up there, taking a s … up there, p … ing up there in his head,” the champ laughed. “And Saturday night, I’ll separate him from his consciousness.”
Then Usman again: “As a person, he’s a rotten piece of shit.
“And I can’t believe his father lets him put this persona on.”
To which, Covington responded: “It least my father wasn’t in prison, scamming everyone.
“All these blue collar Americans, you’re going to scam them, take millions of dollars. Did you pay back all his fees? You need to pay that s … back.
“Despicable.”
But still, the champ wasn’t done.
“I’m looking at your dad over here the corner,” he said. “And I can just tell he’s embarrassed each and every time you open your mouth.”
It was the only time Covington never fired straight back.
Originally published as UFC 268: Colby Covington tells Kamaru Usman “you’re dead motherf … er” in fiery face off