Colby Covington responded to Jon Jones‘ mockery after his UFC Tampa loss by criticizing Jones’ character and past actions, while defending his own image despite having a controversial history himself.
Colby Covington finally clapped back at Jon Jones after the UFC heavyweight champion threw shade his way. The drama unfolded following Covington’s tough loss to Joaquin Buckley at the UFC Tampa main event.
Jones had a few choice words for Covington, stemming from an earlier jab Colby made during a media session. Their beef dates back to their college days when they were wrestling roommates. After Covington’s fight ended due to a nasty cut, Jones tweeted, “Big shoutout to Colby Covington for skipping training to get President Trump ‘ready’—we all appreciate the sacrifice. At least he got to see me win.”
In response, Covington went on a bit of a rant, accusing Jones of being envious of his looks. On his Twitch channel, he said, “Of course he’s talking about me. He wishes he looked like me… had this much respect. He has no respect.”
Covington didn’t stop there; he dredged up some of Jones’ past missteps, like the notorious hit-and-run incident in 2015 that cost Jones his UFC light heavyweight title. By contrast, Covington painted himself as a paragon of virtue.
“There’s nothing to respect about Jon,” Covington declared. “He’s cheated his whole career… terrible person.” He then doubled down on his self-righteous image: “Of course he’d talk about a saint… stands for law and order… f*ck Jon Jones.”
Ironically, while boasting about being a “law-abiding citizen,” Covington omitted his own run-ins with the law. In 2010, he was arrested for fourth-degree assault after an altercation at Oregon State University where he allegedly punched someone twice.
Before that, during his time at the University of Iowa, Covington faced DUI charges and eluded police, leading to suspension from the wrestling team. Eventually, he transferred to Oregon State and found success there.
Regarding his UFC Tampa fight, Covington was not pleased with how it ended. The ringside physician stopped the bout in the third round due to a severe cut over his eye.
“That was a bullshit stoppage,” Covington argued. “I was still in the fight… getting takedowns… None of his punches did any significant damage.” He also mentioned feeling like there might have been an inadvertent eye poke that impaired his vision.
“I couldn’t see… Who’s going to fight on one eye?” he questioned rhetorically, clearly frustrated by the outcome.