Colby Covington never said much positive about former college roommate Jon Jones and that hasn’t changed in the aftermath of his recent win over Stipe Miocic.
Once wrestling teammates at Central Iowa Community College, Covington and Jones have remained at odds in recent years with plenty of simmering bad blood between them. That turmoil ratcheted up once again on Wednesday when Covington addressed Jones’ standing in the heavyweight division where he currently holds the undisputed title.
No matter what he’s accomplished in the past, Covington believes Jones is now avoiding the toughest possible challenges in his career, which is why he sought out a fight against Stipe Miocic coming off a loss and a four year long layoff versus a potential showdown with interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.
“I think Jon needs to stop ducking Tom Aspinall just like he ducked [Francis] Ngannou,” Covington said during UFC Tampa media day. “He ducked Ngannou for years, now he’s ducking Aspinall.
“He doesn’t want to fight the guys he knows he’s going to get his ass beat against. So I don’t think anything special of Jon Jones.”
For all the vitriol that Covington spews, he’s not alone in his accusations against Jones, who came under fire for saying that he had no interest whatsoever in facing Aspinall next but instead called for a fight against reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
While UFC CEO Dana White has remained adamant that if Jones fights again, he needs to unify the heavyweight title in a matchup against Aspinall, the 37-year-old champion has remained cagey about his future plans.
Covington truly believes Jones is avoiding that fight while instead favoring the matchup with Miocic, who he dispatched inside three rounds when they met in November.
“Yeah, he beat Stipe,” Covington said. “Respect to Stipe, first off, because he’s a first responder and he puts his life on the line for the people and for his community. So shout out to Stipe, he’s the greatest heavyweight of all-time. He was passed his time. He shouldn’t have even been there. He knows he’s old, and he was just showing up for a paycheck.
“That’s not the Stipe of old, that was in his prime anymore. I don’t think anything special of that performance.”
Whether personally or professionally, Covington clearly doesn’t think much about Jones and it’s doubtful that opinion is going to change any time soon.
“Jon Jones is a f*cking disgrace to this Earth,” Covington said. “He’s a f*cking joke.
“I don’t think anything special of Jon Jones. He’s a f*cking coward. He’s a cheat.”
