Kamaru Usman ready for Colby Covington: ‘I’m going to enjoy brutalizing him’

Colby Covington raised a lot of eyebrows when he showed up at the UFC 235 fight week festivities to sow “Chaos.” He crashed Kamaru Usman’s open workouts with a megaphone. He tracked UFC president Dana White down playing blackjack at the Palms and demanded to know why he wasn’t given his title shot.

Not the kind of behavior UFC management has historically reacted well to, so it’s a bit of a surprise to learn his shenanigans paid off: early reports after the event claimed he’d be the first title defense for new champ Usman.

”Yeah, he’ll get the next shot,” White confirmed with Megan Olivi. “So long as he accepts it and shows up for the fight, he’ll get the next shot, yes.”

White actually went and talked to Covington in the crowd in the dying minute of Usman’s dominating performance over Tyron Woodley, and reporters were interested in knowing if that was when the offer to fight for the belt came.

”There was a lot of ruckus going on over there,” White explained at the post-fight press conference. “He almost got into it with Mama Woodley at one point, that was like the third time I’d gone over to him tonight. So I just told him ‘Listen, you’re going to get this title shot. Don’t f**k this up. Just relax, you and all your guys relax. If anything goes down, let our people handle it, and we’re going to take you into the back and do some interviews. That’s all I said to him.”

That good news didn’t change Colby’s attitude on fight night.

”He said that I was next,” Covington told TSN. “But he’s told me I was next before, so I can’t hold him to anything. You can’t keep that guy accountable so until I actually sign on the dotted line and get locked in that cage, I’m not gonna believe anything.”

There certainly won’t be any push back from Kamaru Usman, who sounded more than ready to finally get Covington in a cage where he can legally assault him.

”I want to f**k that guy up so bad,” he said at the post fight press conference. “I can’t be in a room with that guy. I can’t. I can’t. I just can’t. And I can’t wait to be healed up and really put my hands on him. That’s one I’m going to enjoy, brutalizing him.”

As far as Covington is concerned, that emotional reaction will only help him.

”I’ve been living rent free in Snoozeman’s head for over two, three years now,” he told TSN. “So you’re gonna see with Usman, I’m going to knock him out in the first round. I’m going to exploit him and it’s going to be night night.”