Colby Covington: “Dana, You Don’t Got The Balls To Release Me”

An unhappy Colby Covington claims that UFC President Dana White doesn’t have the balls to release him. 

Following months and months of speculation, along with consistent back and forth amongst what was like a love (hate!) triangle, between Covington, Kamaru Usman and the UFC welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley, a title fight was finally announced this week. Usman will challenge Woodley in the UF 235 co-main event, at the T-Mobile Arena, in Las Vegas on March 2nd.

This of course didn’t go well with Covington. As a clearly disgruntled Covington spoke to Luke Thomas on The MMA Hour

“I was ready to fight in January in California and fight Woodley then. I was ready to fight in November. The only time I couldn’t fight is back in September in Dallas [at UFC 228], but I couldn’t fight because they offered me the fight on six weeks’ [notice] and I was already getting nose surgery. I couldn’t breathe out of my nose. I had mucus and blood draining down my nose into my lungs. I mean, I was at literally 30 percent.

“So all I did was ask for an extra two months instead of six weeks because they backed themselves into a corner in a matchmaking hole, and now they’re trying to hold this against me. But I find it funny because Dana White’s tone, he changes tone real quick. He heard from the UFC doctors, ‘Colby’s not cleared, he can’t fight in September in Dallas,’ and then he changed his tone. After the Woodley – Till fight, he was like, ‘Okay, Colby’s 100 percent fighting Woodley next, that’s the next fight to make,’ then all of a sudden everything’s changed, now they’re trying to hold it against me, ‘Oh, Colby’s not taking fights. That doesn’t fly in the UFC. Blah, blah, blah.’

“But let’s be honest: Dana, you don’t got the balls to release me. If you’re saying all of this stuff to the media, then release me. But you ain’t got the balls. You know I’m too valuable.

“I was in no shape to fight in September in Dallas. It wasn’t gonna happen, no chance. So if you want to punish me for not fighting in Dallas and [not] turning around on six weeks’ notice when I had surgery and was on every antibiotic and [drug] cocktail underneath the sun, then that’s cool. That’s your business decision. If you want to keep f***ing up your brand and moving shows from one city to another because a guy failed his third steroid test and he’s hitting pregnant ladies [in a] hit-and-run, so be it. I’m the ultimate professional. Show up on time, make weight, do everything they ask of me.

“Fly all over the country, fly all around the world, do whatever they want whenever they want. So, no big deal. If they don’t want a hard-working guy like me, then so be it. Where’s your balls? Show me your balls. If you’re so man[ly], you’re saying in all these videos that you don’t need me and I’m not worth anything and this and that, then let me go.”

When asked if he was serious about requesting that the UFC release him, he confirmed that he was.

“Absolutely but they’re not going to do it. They realize my value now. They realize how valuable I am. They know that I sell. They know that every single fighter in the welterweight division wants to fight me. They know that I’m the draw right now at welterweight. I made this division relevant. The only reason people care about Woodley and care about Usman is because they say my name. I’m the relevant one in the division. No one cares about anybody else. They just want to see me fight anybody, it doesn’t matter who it is. So they’re screwing the fans over, they’re screwing the people, and the people who are make their business run. So it’s a big f*** you to the fans.

“We tried to get sit-down meetings with Dana White. We tried to get sit-down meetings with the UFC brass, ‘Hey, let’s talk this out, man. Like, this could easily be resolved, let’s just figure it out. You give everybody else meetings.’ I’m the one person they will not give a meeting too, so that’s unjust as it is. It’s unfair to me that they wouldn’t give me their meeting and hear my reasoning [about] why is this happening to me. I just want a face-to-face with one of those guys and them tell me why are you not getting this fight, and explain to me the reasoning and have valid points.

“Every time the UFC offers something, I just take it. I’ve never asked for more money, not one time in my career. I fought Demian Maia for $30,000. The No. 2 guy in the world, I was fighting for $30,000. So I don’t care about money. It’s not about money. I’m in this to be the best fighter in the world, to put on entertaining shows, and to please the fans. That’s what it’s all about is the fans, and they’re shitting on all of their fans. So it’s sad. They want to fool the people and think that they can pull this fast one on the people, but really they’re pulling a fast one on themselves.”

When the question was asked, if he would be prepared to be a stand by for the Woodley vs Usman fight, he didn’t mince his words.

“I’d say standby on this, b****,” he said while making a masturbation motion. “I’m standing [by] my guns. I’m not fighting for anything less than what I was promised and what I deserve. And that’s a title shot.”

You can also see Colby’s chat with Ariel Helwani here: 

[irp posts=”1260″ name=”Ben Askren Trolls Marty (Kamaru Usman)”]

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