‘I don’t feel alive until I’m in that UFC octagon’: Colby Covington ahead of title faceoff

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Welterweight title challenger Colby Covington declared he only felt alive in the UFC octagon ahead of his fight with Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards.

While speaking to UFC.com, the once-interim champion said his absence from the octagon was not his fault but that of those he recently wanted to contest against, who denied him the privilege.

Covington (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) will fight UFC welterweight titleholder Leon Edwards (20-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) in UFC 296 on December 16.

‘This sitting out bullsh*t has been tough because I’ve wanted to fight,’ claimed Covington in his statement. ‘Every fight I’ve accepted Against Khamzat Chimaev, Dustin Poirier, and some other guys in the division that the UFC were trying to match up, but they didn’t want to fight.

‘It just made me hungrier, and it made me realize how much I love this sport. I don’t feel alive until I’m in that UFC octagon. That’s when I feel the most alive in my life, and I feel like that’s the true meaning.’

Speaking about his future opponent, Covington suggested that Edwards fought the previous champion while unqualified and was ahead of him in ranking because of setbacks he himself suffered in the last two years.

‘He had the right matchups at the right time to get to that point in his career. He fought a lightweight washout in Nate Diaz and sat out almost two years to get his title shot,’ said Covington. ‘I don’t think he warranted getting a title shot after beating that guy.

‘He just cried, “I deserve this, I deserve that,” instead of just going out there and working for it or earning it like I did. I had to earn it the hard way. No one gave me this spot to fight for the undisputed title. I had to earn it.

‘I had to go the unconventional way because the straight-ahead way wasn’t available. He didn’t earn it the hard way like I did, and Dec. 16, he’s going to find out that he’s going to get broken by the American dream.’

UFC superstar Anthony Jay Smith recently criticised Edwards haste to go to the middleweight division and face the champion, Sean Strickland. It seems, however, that nothing might stop Edwards from continuously climbing up the ladders at the UFC.

The management has been accused, especially CEO Dana White, of favouritism.