Colby Covington said he would ‘take out the trash’ in the UFC 272 main event, and duly obliged with a comfortable decision win over Jorge Masvidal.
It was a comprehensive win for the 34-year-old who moves to 17-3 as a pro after it was announced he had won 49-46, 50-44, and 50-45 across the three judges’ scorecards.
But like always, it was his antics after the fight with a microphone in hand that drew the most attention.
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“I just took care of Miami street trash, now it’s time to take care of Louisiana swamp trash,” he said. “Where you at Dustin Poirier you cuck?
“You said it’s on sight, name the site Dustin. Bring that jezebel of a wife and bring that little kid that’s Conor’s [McGregor’s] kid and I’ll see you soon. You’re next.”
It was interesting that Covington called out Poirier, a lightweight, after his fight – rather than welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, who has beaten Covington twice in their two title fights.
It may be a transparent effort by Covington to land himself a big-money fight in a different division, but the former interim lightweight champion was uninterested, urging Covington to look elsewhere.
https://twitter.com/DustinPoirier/status/1500364396903682050
Earlier on the card, Rafael dos Anjos had a dominant decision win over Renato Moicano, the latter receiving enough punishment to prompt many viewers to question why his corner hadn’t thrown in the towel.
You only had to look at his bloodied face afterwards to see how much damage he’d taken.
https://twitter.com/espn/status/1500341261068242944
One fight that did end prematurely was that of former NFL player-turned fighter Greg Hardy, who was comprehensively beaten by Sergey Spivak after just two minutes of the first round.
Hardy, whose contract with the UFC was up after this fight, has now been stopped three times in his last three fights – including a devastating KO at the hands of Australian superstar Tai Tuivasa.
The ex-Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys defensive end has been an unpopular figure during his time in MMA, having been run out of football as a result of off-field issues.
He was suspended in 2015 for domestic violence following an incident in which he allegedly battered his ex-girlfriend, and was arrested on felony possession of a controlled substance in Texas the following year.