UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler is the latest to mock Colby Covington.
‘Chaos’ returned to the cage in the main event of UFC 296 over the weekend. For Colby Covington, the bout was his first since a unanimous decision win over Jorge Masvidal last March. In the pay-per-view headliner, he met Leon Edwards. In the build to the bout, Covington was unsurprisingly antagonistic, even invoking the champion’s murdered father.
Nonetheless, all the trash talk proved to be for naught on Saturday. In the main event of UFC 296, Colby Covington was dominated, losing by unanimous decision. Post-fight, he blamed the defeat on three supposedly Donald Trump-hating judges, and that he was robbed. It’s safe to say that Michael Chandler doesn’t agree with that assessment.
The UFC lightweight contender reacted to Colby Covington’s loss in a recent interview with InsideFighting. There, Michael Chandler made fun of the former interim welterweight champion, also drawing reference to his pre-fight talk. Not only did ‘Chaos’ mock Edwards and his family, but he also stated that the bout would be like 1776.
Obviously, Covington was referencing the Declaration of Independence and the United States’ separation from Great Britain. According to Michael Chandler, if ‘Chaos’ were the one fighting in 1776, we still might be under a monarchy.
Michael Chandler reacts to Colby Covington’s loss to Leon Edwards
“I said after three rounds, Colby has taken 1776 shots to the face and had zero offense.” Michael Chandler stated in a recent interview with InsideFighting, reacting to Colby Covington’s UFC 296 loss to Leon Edwards. “If Colby’s offense was an accurate depiction of the U.S. military, we would have never gotten our independence. Lost World War 1, and lost World War 2. 100% [he let down Trump], it was worse than weak. It’s actually only because Colby made such a big deal about it.”
He responded to a question about potentially fighting Covington in the future, “Not now! Not after that performance. Colby should be fighting on the prelims. That’s my [opinion]. Super disappointed.”
Michael Chandler’s comments about Colby Covington are far from original. In the aftermath of UFC 296, many, many names have taken turns blasting ‘Chaos’. From former teammate turned foe Jorge Masvidal, to now ‘Iron’, it’s clear that the former interim champion isn’t beloved right now.
Regardless, one will have to see how he responds to the criticism. As of now, Colby Covington is yet to schedule his return to the cage. However, he did show interest in facing Stephen Thompson following his UFC 296 loss. Much like the former interim champion, ‘Wonderboy’ fought on the card, suffering a lopsided loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov.
Meanwhile, Michael Chandler’s return to the cage is yet to be finalized. However, he has been linked to a potential return against Conor McGregor at UFC 300 in April. The two lightweights famously coached the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter against one another, but have failed to nail down a fight date.
What do you make of these comments from Michael Chandler? Do you agree with his thoughts on Colby Covington’s performance?