Morning Report: Colby Covington on fight with Jorge Masvidal: ‘It’s not gonna be a baptism, it’s gonna be a funeral’

We’ve finally arrived. This weekend, the long-awaited grudge match between welterweight contenders Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal takes place in the main event of UFC 272, and as expected, Covington has finally entered the fray of verbal warfare.

Earlier this month, as UFC 272 drew nearer, Masvidal began taking shots at Covington, starting with a scathing video blasting “The Real Street Judas” which was essentially a compilation video of Covington’s actions and other fighters talking trash about him. Over the course of the month, Masvidal continued to take shots at Covington, while “Chaos” remained mostly quiet. But with fight week now upon us, the former UFC interim welterweight champion is dialing up the persona.

“I feel like a little kid the night before Christmas,” Covington told TMZ Sports. “I’m super excited to hold this kid accountable for all the reckless words he’s said to the media. He’s been lying this whole time and I can’t wait to expose him in front of the world.

“I’m the best fighter in the world right now, I don’t care what anybody says. I won three rounds out of my last undisputed title fight with [Kamaru] Usman. The people saw at Madison Square Garden, just because three stooges sitting cage side awarded him three rounds to two, one measly round he won by. I know truly, deep down inside, who is the best fighter in the world and that’s me and next weekend you’re gonna see him on display.”

It was not just the three judges at cage side that score it for Usman — most people believe Usman won the fight — but Covington has never let facts get in the way of a good narrative, and this weekend, there is a much better narrative at play: the bitter rivalry of a friendship scorned. And with the “bad blood” nature of this fight front and center, Covington is continuing to lean into that aspect of the fight promotion.

“This is way more personal, this is a blood feud,” Covington said. “This goes back to a brotherhood. We were eight years together, every single day, side by side, couldn’t leave each other best friends. And now we’re the biggest bitter enemies. Like, he’s the one person on Earth that I don’t give a sh*t. Anytime I see him, I want to send him straight to hell, and luckily I get to do it in the UFC octagon next Saturday night on pay-per-view. It’s gonna be bad. I’m gonna make him pay, I’m gonna make him suffer for backstabbing me and turning his back and trying to run this fake narrative to the media.”

It’s not just Covington who is ramping things up on fight week though. Over the weekend, Masvidal gave an interview to ESPN where he said he expects to put Covington “in critical condition.” Not one to be outdone, Covington is predicting “a funeral” on Saturday.

“I see a lot of pain. I’m gonna inflict so much pain on Jorge Masvidal,” Covington said. “He’s not gonna be the same person ever again. He keeps talking about a baptism. It’s not gonna be a baptism, it’s gonna be a funeral. Jorge Masvidal’s career-ending funeral. It’s gonna be violent. And it’s not gonna be quick. I could easily finish it quick — I used to do it all the time behind closed doors — but this one I’m gonna drag it out, I’m gonna make him suffer, and it’s probably gonna be the first time in UFC history you see a guy in a main event verbally tap out and say he can’t take no more of a beating.”

UFC 272 takes place this Saturday at the T-Mobil Arena in Las Vegas.

Results. Islam Makhachev stops Bobby Green in the first round at UFC Vegas 49.

Results. Gegard Mousasi steamrolls Austin Vanderford in 85 seconds to defend title at Bellator 275.

Results. Reinier de Ridder retains double champ status on knockout-filled card at ONE: Full Circle.

Title Shot. Islam Makhachev expects Charles Oliveira to finish Justin Gaethje, laughs off Conor McGregor jumping over him for title shot.

Apology. Bobby Green apologizes for loss to Islam Makhachev, explains why he doesn’t want another UFC main event.

Wait. Conor McGregor gives update on 2022 return, advises UFC champ Charles Oliveira to wait ‘another month or two’.

Hero. Bellator champ Yaroslav Amosov staying in Ukraine to defend home against Russian attack.

Genesis. ‘UFC 272 Countdown’ video reveals roots of Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington’s rivalry.

Rescheduled. Glover Teixeira vs. Jiri Prochazka championship fight at UFC 274 rescheduled for UFC 275.

UFC Vegas 49 Post Show.

UFC Vegas 49 Post-Fight Press conference.

UFC 272 Countdown.

PFL Challenger Series highlights.

Masvidal talking about the boatyard fights.

On to the Next One. Matches to make following UFC Vegas 49.

Khabib.

High praise (from a guy that shares a management team).

Support.

Nigerian Pride.

A new approach to fighting.

Devonte Smith (11-3) vs. Ludovit Klein (17-4); UFC 272, March 5.

Charles Jourdain (12-4-1) vs. Lando Vannata (12-5-2); UFC Vegas 52, April 23.

Mauricio Rua (27-12-1) vs. Ovince St. Preux (25-16); UFC 274, May 7.

Jeff Molina (10-2) vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov (14-6); UFC Fight Night, June 4.

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