The following article featuring UFC 272 headliner Colby Covington was published on this day three years ago. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
On This Day Three Years Ago...
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED MARCH 6, 2019, 9:22 AM]
Colby Covington wasn't even competing at UFC 235 over the weekend but was still one of the event's biggest stories. "Chaos" had confrontations with the likes of UFC President Dana White, Kamau Usman, NFL star Todd Gurley, and more. However, it sounds like he also had a brief run-in with UFC mega-star Nate Diaz.
Speaking to "The Ariel Helwani MMA Show", Covington said the Stockton native flipped him the bird while passing by cageside (via MMA Mania):
“Our skill level is way apart from each other. He’s a bottom feeder,” said Covington. “It was funny because he walked by me and he said, ‘F*ck you Colby.’ And he flipped me off when I was sitting front row and he walked by cageside. It’s just funny. keep that energy Nate. If you’re so tough, let’s see it inside the cage, b*tch.”
Diaz hasn't fought since his 2016 rematch with Conor McGregor at UFC 202. He was briefly scheduled to fight Dustin Poirier at UFC 230, but an injury to "The Diamond" forced that fight off. Now, Diaz's return to the Octagon remains up in the air.
After Usman was crowned the new king of the UFC's welterweight division, Covington is expected to get the next crack at the title. A key reason for Covington's ruckus all weekend was his lobbying for a title opportunity. It looks like all the self-promotion finally paid off.
What do you think about Covington's comments regarding his run-in with Diaz?
