Kamaru Usman was ready to fight Colby Covington at the airport, until his arch-nemesis said something that changed his mind.
The pair of welterweight titans had two epic encounters, with ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ stopping his rival in the first and edging a decision victory in the second.
Their feud has been fuelled by a mutual dislike, even more so than a desire to prove who the better fighter is.
Therefore, when Usman spotted the American in public, he couldn’t resist confronting him face-to-face.
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Kamaru Usman says Colby Covington was really nice when they clashed at the airport
Kamaru Usman just had a friendly interaction with Alex Pereira prior to UFC 313, in which the pair settled their differences.
With that in mind, it’s clear the fighter is capable of burying the hatchet. However, on paper, doing so with Colby Covington would’ve been much tougher than with ‘Poatan’, as the icons have expressed nothing but dislike towards one another.
However, that’s nearly what happened when Usman ambushed ‘Chaos’, with a willingness to throw down there and then, until his fellow wrestler took him by surprise by being really pleasant.
In an interview with the Full Send podcast, the ex-170-pound King said: “So, we seen him at the airport, and he’s by himself and he’s got that stupid little neck pillow on. I’m gonna run up on him, if he talks crazy, I’m about to fight him right here’.
“I go up to him and my teammate is recording it, like a jacka–. He’s instigating it. So, I go and I sit in front of him. I’m like, ‘What’s going on, man’? I gave him a tough look.
“He was so nice, that I felt like a jacka–. I’m trying to be mean, and he’s being nice. He’s like, ‘What’s up, man’? Now, I feel like a jerk.”
This feeling was only temporary for Kamaru Usman, because it didn’t take long for Covington to revert back to his old self.
The former UFC welterweight champion chuckled: “Then, the next week, this motherf—– gets online and he’s like, ‘Next time you see me at the airport, I’m going to smack the s— out of you’. I’m like ‘bro’?”
Colby Covington is having issues keeping up his bad guy persona, according to a former UFC star
It’s difficult to tell whether the real Covington is the pleasant man at the airport, or the social media troll.
According to some, the former title challenger really enjoys winding people up, but others are adamant that behind the facade is a genuinely good person.
One fighter in particular is convinced that he’s just putting on an act.
An ex-UFC star claimed Covington is having a tough time keeping up his bad guy persona.
