Despite his typically brash personality, Colby Covington has a lot of respect for both competitors in Saturday night’s championship game in Las Vegas.
In the UFC 252 main event, Stipe Miocic will defend his heavyweight title against Daniel Cormier in the third and final meeting between two of the hottest the division has ever seen. In addition, it is expected that it will be the final battle of Cormier’s incredible career.
Covington holds Cormier and his performances in high esteem ahead of the former two-division champions swan song.
“I have a lot of admiration and respect for Daniel Cormier,” Covington told MMA Fighting. ‘He has had a legendary career. I made an Instagram post about him a year or two ago calling him the ‘Natty GOAT’. I actually feel like he’s the ‘Natty GOAT’, and by that I mean the natural GOAT. He is the greatest natural of all time.
‘You see all these other guys, trying to compare the GOATs, these are all guys who did steroids. So let’s talk about natural. That’s what Daniel is. He is the executioner of a good person and a good soul. I wish him well this weekend. ”
The respect conveys to the reigning heavyweight titleholder for his work in and out of the octagon.
“Support is also another great person,” Covington explained. “He’s a firefighter, he’s a first responder, so I have to give him a lot of love for what he does for the people of his city and around the world.”
In their first meeting, Cormier, who entered the competition as the lightweight heavyweight champion, was only the second in UFC history to hold two titles simultaneously after a first round of Miocic at UFC 226.
After submitting Derrick Lewis to successfully defend his title at UFC 230, “DC” gave Miocic his rematch 13 months after her first encounter at UFC 241. Cormier had a hot start to the second meeting, likely winning the first three rounds before Miocic completed the fight in the fourth.
When asked to make a prediction for the trilogy attack, Covington admits it was a tricky one.
“I wish those guys the best, and it’s really hard to pick a winner because they’re both pretty good guys,” Covington explained. “If I had to pick a winner, I would probably go with ‘DC’.”
As the return of Covington to the octagon becomes, a fight with bitter rival Tyron Woodley is set for the UFC event on September 19th. “Chaos” told MMA Fighting that although the much-anticipated bout is getting closer to a reality than ever before, it has yet to be signed, sealed and delivered.
While awaiting his building agreement, Covington was asked if he would agree to attend Miocic and Cormier’s last meeting. Despite the respect he has for both hunters, Covington says he will spend his weekend celebrating the freedoms the United States has granted him.
“Yeah, it really interests me,” Covington said. “Interesting me and looking at me are two different things. I will not look at it because I have better things to do. I will enjoy my weekend – my weekend of freedom in America, the freest country of all because of the bravest. A big thank you to all our service members out there who put their lives on the line.
‘There is no holiday for war. It’s a full day, 24-7 thing, and these guys are protecting our constitutional rights we have in America, and they’re protecting them every day. They do not get enough credit. ”
