Welterweight champion Belal Muhammad reveled in watching Colby Covington take a beating at UFC on ESPN 63.
Covington (17-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) suffered a third-round doctor stoppage TKO loss to Joaquin Buckley (21-6 MMA, 11-4 UFC) in this past Saturday’s main event at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. The doctor called off the fight with seconds remaining in Round 3 after a laceration on Covington’s right eyelid bled profusely.
Given their history of trash talk, it should come as no surprise that Muhammad enjoyed watching Covington take so much damage.
”It felt so good just to watch him bleed and suffer,” Muhammad told MMA on SiriusXM. “I was just hoping that the doctor would let it go a little bit more because now you open the door for Colby to make excuses. He’s already coming out with excuses. Bro, you’re literally getting pieced up in every way you can get pieced up. You were losing the grappling, you were losing the striking, you were losing the kickboxing, you even lost the walkout because you ripped your shirt before you even got out there, so you looked stupid doing that.
“Once people realize he’s not what people thought he was – they put him on this pedestal of, ‘Oh, man, he’s the cardio king. He’s this, he’s that.’ These new guys now, where we’re studying, we’re seeing stuff. He’s not throwing anything at you to make you worry. He can throw his pity patty freaking punches, and then he takes his stupid shot and pushes to the fence and tries to take you down. But there are better athletes now, there are better guys, smarter guys now that are seeing all this stuff.”
Muhammad thinks Covington’s time at the top of the welterweight ladder is done.
“I think now that one person realizes, wait, this kid really does suck, he doesn’t belong in the top five in the UFC,” Muhammad said. “I don’t think he’ll beat anybody in the top 10 in the UFC. Now he’s realized the game has passed him by, and he needs to figure out what’s next. Maybe he’ll have one big fight against somebody, maybe, but there’s not a lot left for him.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 63.
