Colby Covington believes it wouldn’t have made sense for him to take the UFC’s initial offer to fight Kamaru Usman at UFC 244.
Covington vs. Usman was in the works to headline the Nov. 2 Madison Square Garden card in New York City. UFC president Dana White revealed that negotiations fell apart. As a result, a welterweight clash between Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal will serve as UFC 244’s main event.
Covington Says He Was Offered ‘Basic Challenger’s Rate’
Covington spoke to MMAFighting.com‘s Damon Martin and revealed that he was none too pleased with what was being offered for the Usman fight.
“What happened exactly was the UFC came to me and offered me a basic challenger’s rate,” Covington explained when speaking to MMA Fighting on Monday. “I said no, I’m not challenging. I’m champion. I’ve never lost, I just defended my title. I brought in the Trumps. I got a tweet from [Donald] Trump, that’s like $3.5 million in marketing. If you break down the analytics of it, in itself, just to promote their show.
“I’ve put my life on the line for this company. Went to Brazil, said outlandish things where people literally wanted to kill me and I had gangs in favelas coming after me and they still want to come at me with this basic challenger, entry fee type money? I’m standing up for what’s right.”
This isn’t the first time Covington at the UFC have been at odds. “Chaos” lost his title unification bout against Tyron Woodley last year when he opted to undergo nasal surgery. Covington ended up having to take another fight against Robbie Lawler, which he won via unanimous decision.
