Kamaru Usman is not surprised by Colby Covington’s post-UFC 268 behavior.
It is no secret that both bouts between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington had highly contentious build-ups to say the very least. This particularly rings true when replaying the words of Covington. Covington has taken shots at Usman’s family, made accusations of steroid use, and has generally spoken without boundaries whenever addressing his rival.
Immediately after their rematch at UFC 268, however, something unexpected happened—“out of character” even, if you will. Covington appeared to extend a show of respect to Usman after the fight, whispering something in his ear that referee Dan Miragliotta heard up close. Miragliotta seemed to consider the words to be overly positive if anything, telling the welterweights to ‘kiss’ later as he split them apart.
By the time Covington made it to the post-fight press conference, however, he was back to running down Usman without missing a beat. He reiterated that he was incapable of respecting a cheater like Usman and that he once again felt robbed in the fight.
Kamaru Usman Unsurprised By Covington ‘Staying In Character’
In an appearance on The FULL SEND PODCAST this week, the welterweight champion explained why he wasn’t surprised to see Covington continue with the insults and disrespect despite the apparent show of respect after the fight.
“I mean, he’s supposed to,” Usman said of Covington sticking to his guns after the fight. “That’s what you’re supposed to do. Like, Undertaker was wrestling for how many years? Have you ever seen him break character, really? So I mean, it is what it is. He has to do what he can.”
The Undertaker is a pro wrestling legend who performed in the WWE for three decades. He is considered to be one of the greatest characters in the history of sports entertainment. If you were to ask Colby Covington, however, there is no character being played on his part and every word out of his mouth is what they would call in the wrestling business a “shoot.”
Covington is adamant that he and Usman still have unfinished business, so he continues to cut promos on the Nigerian American left and right in true WWE fashion. One of them could be found with us here on MMA News, where Covington continued to bash Usman and also covered a litany of other topics, such as Jon Jones’s latest arrest, the “downfall” of Conor McGregor, the origins of his beef with Jorge Masvidal, and so much more.
You can view that full interview below!