Colby Covington turned his pre-fight trash talk up to 11 during UFC 272 media day, as he dragged Jorge Masvidal’s wife and children into the mix during a bitter rant at his opponent.
The pair are all set to face off in the main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night, and the former friends-turned-bitter enemies appear to have reached the point of no return in their relationship.
And, after spending much of Tuesday conducting broadcast interviews ahead of their grudge match, Covington was in full-on attack mode at Wednesday’s media day.
“I’m going to inflict a lot of pain on this guy,” Covington told reporters.
“He’s talked recklessly and just a lot of lies and trying to make me look like the bad guy, trying to put himself in a positive light, so I’m just going to inflict pain on him.
“I’m not going to think about all the emotions and all the energy and our past. I’m just going to think about the present, in the moment, and putting that guy in his death chair.”
Masvidal has been similarly strong in his comments, but has kept his sights firmly on Covington.
But “Chaos” extended the breadth of his trash talk to Masvidal’s family as he referenced his estranged wife Maritza, and his children.
“You know, he likes to always say I was sleeping on his couch. Nah, this is 2022. Get your gender pronouns right,” he continued.
“I slept on her couch – and by her, I mean his wife. They’re still legally married. Maritza Masvidal, the lady that sacrificed it all so we could chase our dreams together, you know, so we could just be focused on our dreams.
“He’s out there, cheating on his wife, cheating on his kids. So, Saturday night, this is for Maritza and all the people he backstabbed.”
Covington delivered similarly pointed attacks at Kamaru Usman ahead of his title rematch with the current welterweight champion, and referenced Usman’s father, who had previously been incarcerated.
However, after his defeat to Usman on fight night, octagon mics picked up Covington seemingly saying, “I’ve always had love for you. I’m just trying to make you money,” as the pair embraced after the fight.
But Covington said fans shouldn’t expect a similar show of respect at the end of Saturday night’s bout with Masvidal.
“Absolutely not,” Covington said.
“Who wants to bury the hatchet with a criminal, with a thief, with a dirtbag scumbag?
“More of his family likes me than they even like him, so I’m not burying it with this dirtbag criminal.
“He’s going to have to leave Miami. The city isn’t big enough for both of us, so if I see him in Miami, he’s getting dropped on his head.”
