Colby Covington finally responded to some jabs from Jon Jones after the UFC heavyweight champion mocked him following a lopsided loss to Joaquin Buckley in the UFC Tampa main event.
Jones’ comments stem from Covington insulting his former college wrestling roommate during a media session ahead of his fight, which ultimately ended due to a gruesome cut he suffered over his eye. After the loss, Jones wrote “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.”
Covington fired back with a somewhat bizarre diatribe that involved Jones apparently being jealous of his good looks.
“Of course he’s talking about me,” Covington said on his Twitch channel. “He wishes he looked like me. He wishes he had these kinds of looks and was this beautiful and had this much respect. He has no respect.”
After bringing up some of Jones’ past transgressions, which included an infamous hit-and-run accident back in 2015 that eventually led to Jones relinquishing the UFC light heavyweight title, Covington painted himself as the picture of virtue by comparison.
“There’s nothing to respect about Jon,” Covington said. “He’s cheated his whole career. He’s cheated on his wife. He’s cheated on his taxes. So he’s a terrible person.
“Of course he’d talk about a saint and someone who’s a law-abiding citizen like myself. Someone that stands for law and order. Someone that stands for the military, the troops, the Trumps. So f*ck Jon Jones.”
Colby Covington just went OFF on Jon Jones for dissing him after his loss last weekend pic.twitter.com/iHJbxymju9
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) December 18, 2024
While touting himself as a “law-abiding citizen,” Covington failed to mention his arrest in 2010 where he was cited for fourth-degree assault after he allegedly shouted at some of his fellow students at Oregon State University and called them names. When the alleged victim turned to confront Covington, the former NCAA All-American wrestler “punched him twice in the face.”
That incident came after Covington returned home to Oregon following a two-year stint at the University of Iowa where he was arrested for driving under the influence and eluding police. Following the DUI, Covington was suspended from the Iowa wrestling team before effectively becoming a non-starter in his second year and then eventually transferring to Oregon State where he found his most success as a wrestler.
As for his fight at UFC Tampa, Covington continued to lash out at the stoppage after the ringside physician stopped the bout in the third round due to the gash that kept pouring blood into his eye.
“That was a bullshit stoppage,” Covington said. “Let’s be honest. I was still in the fight. I was getting takedowns. He was getting slower. None of his punches did any significant damage, like drop me or hurt me.
“I feel like there was an eye poke or something, not a direct eye poke but an inadvertent one. I couldn’t see. I was out of one eye. Who’s going to fight on one eye?”
