Colby Covington, the UFC’s interim welterweight champion, crashed Kamaru Usman‘s open workout for UFC 235 on Thursday afternoon in Las Vegas.
The brash and outspoken Covington, self-proclaimed as the promotion’s “villain,” appeared in the crowd of fans with a bullhorn and yelled at Usman from a few feet away.
“The real champ is here! The real champ is here!” Covington screamed. “How does it feel to be No. 2 in the world? You’re not No. 1. Fly back to Boca and sub me in. Let’s see that energy. You ain’t got no energy. You’re trying to get knocked out Saturday night, scrub.”
Colby Covington just crashed Kamaru Usman’s open workout with his belt and a megaphone. pic.twitter.com/X6iCDazrJV
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 28, 2019
Usman (14-1) will be fighting Tyron Woodley (19-3-1) for the UFC’s welterweight belt on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena. Covington (14-1) is the top contender for the belt, according to UFC divisional rankings. He was passed over for the No. 2-ranked Usman in this weekend’s championship matchup.
Covington is coming off a unanimous decision win against former champion Rafael dos Anjos in June at UFC 225 to claim the interim belt. He has won six in a row.
Speaking with media after the workouts, Covington said he stopped after UFC security came over. He then called UFC President Dana White “a coward.”
“He has nothing to say to me,” Covington said. “He can’t even talk to me like a man. I tried to have a meeting with him face-to-face but he doesn’t have anything to say.
“I’m the real world champ. There’s no interim about this. I’m the people’s champ, I’m America’s champ. I better be next. If I’m not, they better give me my release, and I’ll go somewhere else then. It’s title next or I’m out of the UFC.”