MMA Fighting - Colby Covington Gives Update On Tyron Woodley Fight, Predicts Rival Will 'Leave On A Stretcher'

Episode Date: August 12, 2020

Colby Covington joined MMA Fighting's Mike Heck for an exclusive interview to provide an update on the targeted Sept. 19 fight with Tyron Woodley, his thoughts on Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal at UFC 251 and the current landscape of the welterweight division, the UFC 252 main event between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier, and more.  Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Subscribe: http://goo.gl/dYpsgH Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/u8VvLi Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/eFhsvM Like MMAF on Facebook: http://goo.gl/uhdg7Z Follow on Twitter: http://goo.gl/nOATUI Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network. All right, Colby Covington back on the show. And everyone keeps asking, when's Colby coming back on? So request granted. Colby, good to see you as always, man. How are you, sir? I'm doing great. It's so good to be back, Mike.

I always enjoy talking to you. One of the real ones, one of the last of a dying breed of impartial journalists who are not biased. So I respect your opinion and I look forward to chatting today. I always look forward to chatting with you as well. As always, a lot to discuss with you, Colby. Well, let's get right into the main thing people want to know. And as a longtime pro wrestling fan yourself, you may appreciate this comparison,

but there was this old episode of Piper's Pit right before WrestleMania 3, and he's straight up asshole Kogan. Are you or are you not going to fight Andre the Giant at WrestleMania 3 for the title? And Colby, as you know in the MMA world, the new cycle is a buzz right now that the long-awaited grudge match between you and Tyrone Woodley

is being targeted for September 19th. So are you or are you not fighting Tyron Woodley on September 19th? You know, as America's champ, as the people's champ, as Donald Trump's favorite fighter, you know, there's a thing that Donald Trump patented, and that promises made, promises kept. So I don't want to come on here today, Mike, and lie to you and say that it's going to be a for sure thing

because I don't know. I don't know if Tyrone Woodley's going to show up. You know, I was willing to fight him on four days notice last time, so I'm always ready to show up to fight him. It could be a week's notice. You know, I gave a verbal agreement to fight him August 22nd.

He didn't want to show up. Apparently, you know, he low-tee testosterone, Woodley, you know, he has to do some juice. He has to juice up to get ready to go to fight me. And supposedly now he's given his verbal agreement for September 19th, but let's be honest, Mike. There's no way I can give you a guarantee because there's no contract in writing.

The ink has not dried. So I hope it happens. I'm ready to go, but I can't give you a definite answer that it will happen on September 19th. Do you feel confident that it will happen? Because I feel like we're further along now than we have been in the past.

To be honest, no, man. This has been such a runaround to try and fight Tyrone Woodie for the last four or five years. It's just the guy's making excuses. He's getting elective surgeries. You know, oh, he needs more time for training. camp, he's doing this, he's doing that. You know, you would think with all the running and

dodging he's done for me, Mike, that he would have this insane cardio. But no, he's getting gassed out by schoolteachers on some gladiator reality show. I mean, you've wanted this fight for so long now, and there have been times that we've spoken, it was like, I think it was right after the Gilbert Burns went over Woodley that you thought the ship may have sailed at this point. And then the last time I talked to you, it kind of got reeled back in. And now that there's a targeted date here. It seems like you're allowing yourself to not get too excited for it, kind of a more of a wait and see thing.

So on a scale of 1 to 10, where are we at right now? We have like a 6 or a 7, are we lower than that? Yeah, I would say we're at a 6 or a 7. You know, I'd say that's an accurate assessment. I'd say, you know, if we were taking football terms, you know, we're at the 40-yard line. We're coming up on the 30-yard line. So we're getting close.

We're not inside the red zone yet. You know, nothing's been signed. You know, there's still some terms. that, you know, the UFC told me that they're going to do, but, you know, they haven't sent me anything, and I haven't seen a contract. So until I see that, you know, I've agreed to fight. I want to fight him. I wanted to fight him August 22nd in main event in Vegas, but, you know, he needed a little bit more time for training camp. You know, I know he wants to make sure he can juice up and be the best he's ever been. It's not going to make a difference, though.

So, you know, I'm hoping it gets put together. I hope he shows up, man. I'm not going to be excited to give you a definite answer until we're locked in that octagon, and I see him across the octagon. Fair enough. What kind of terms are we talking about here? I just little terms, you know, some terms that the UFC said that, you know, that they were going to accommodate me with, you know, little things, first class travel, you know, some sweets. You know, I am raw American steel, twist and sex appeal. You know, I got to make sure that my body and mind are living good on fight week. And, you know, I've earned this right to be, you know, in this position as the main event fighter and the fighter that's drawing all the cloud for this fight and selling this fight. So, you know, just some little things, you know, the UFC already agreed to me with, but they haven't sent me over contract with those terms on their agreement. So, you know, I'm just waiting for that. But I'm easy.

The UFC knows I'm easy. I love to fight. This is my passion is what I love to do. So, you know, I want to get out there and fight. It doesn't matter if it's on a week's notice. If it's on a day's notice, I'm always ready to go. Tyron has lost his last two, back-to-back five-rounders to Kamar Usman and then to Gilbert Burns.

And you have to believe that, you know, I'm a positive thinker. I'm, I'm reeking of positivity right now that this fight is going to happen on September 19th. So you got to believe his backs against the wall here. And if there's one fight that's going to get him going, it's probably this one. Do you think, you know, on September 19th, let's just say this is, this all happens and goes smoothly, that he's going to come in with a little bit of a different approach, some more aggression, maybe he fights a little more emotional because his rivalry has gotten so personal. There's no doubt about it. You know, this, this rivalry is beyond personal. You know, this is for bragging rights for the rest of our lives. You know,

there's no doubt that, you know, fighting me, he's going to get the biggest adrenaline and the biggest, you know, just motivation and, and its inspiration to come out here and try and knock me out, you know? I mean, this fight sells in so many different ways, you know, we used to be teammates, you know, the Republican liberal angle, you know, the hatred we genuinely have for each other. So I think we're going to see the best time we'll be we've ever seen in this fight. And, you know, speaking of his last two fights, you know, those guys, yeah, they beat him on the judge of scorecards. This. This. His fight ain't going to the judge's scorecards. I'm going to leave no doubt. I am the best world to wait in the world. I'm going to add another world champion to my resume, my long list of amazing resume that I already have, and I'm going to finish him. It's not going to the judge's decisions.

I promise you that he will get left unconscious inside that off the ground. Since you've been preparing for a short-notice opportunity, how much advantage do you think that gives you since you've been getting ready nonstop for the last several months, and you're probably as fresh as I guess a fighter can be ahead of a training camp or a hopeful training camp here?

Yeah, it doesn't. It doesn't, Mike, because, you know, on the same token, you know, I was preparing so hard in training camp to fill in for the Marty Fake Newsman fight in case something went wrong there. And, you know, I put my body through the grind. And so I kind of had to pull back these last couple weeks, you know, hey, Colby, you know, take it easy. You know, you went two, three days every single day for eight weeks, training for that

world title fight and it didn't come to fruition. So, you know, now it's time to take a little step back, you know, give your body in mind a little break, a little relax, and then we'll get back to hard training. So, you know, it's just understanding the process and understanding your body and just being very intelligent with your body. Some guys, they just run into the ground and they don't understand that, you know, you're not going to get a lot out of your body if you just continuously run it into the ground every day. You know, you need to have off days. You need to have days where you just kind of let loose and you just freeze. So I've just kind of taken a step back the last couple of days and just kind of relax. And as soon as this fight gets locked and sealed, you know, I'll be back in training camp again. Obviously, the win is first and foremost, but with this fight with Tyron, you've been hoping it would happen for years now. What is the goal on September 19th outside of just getting the win? And, you know, I guess just proving that you're the top welter way in the world. Is there like a certain kind of finish that you're shooting for? Like, what is the main goal that'll satisfy you walking out of that Octagon on September 9th if all goes well and this fight actually happens?

If Tyrone Woodley does not lead the Octagon on September 19th live on ESPN on a stretcher, then I didn't do my job, Mike. Fair enough. We saw Gilbert Burns become the number one contender after he beat Woodley. If you're able to do exactly that and send Tyrone out on a stretcher, does that put you in the position to fight the winner of Usman versus Burns? Is there a chance that that would, you would jump the queue here? Is that possible? You know, I think the fight's going to speak for itself. I think that the fans are going to speak up,

and they're going to realize the way I finish Tyrone Woodley and the way I leave him motionless inside that octagon, there will be no doubt who the best fighter in the world is. You know, those guys, yeah, they beat him in decisions, but none of them finished Tyrone Woodley. I go out there and finish Tyrone Woodley. I cement myself as the best Walt away in the world, and I cement myself for the next World to Weight title shot,

no if-ins or butts. Will the beef ever be squashed between the two of you guys? If you guys go in there and have a battle, you finish the man. Is it over? Is it just going to continue on forever and ever here? No, this is a real beef, Mike. This isn't some manufacturer beef like Marty Fake Newsman and Street, Judas Mosswood all tried to do, you know, where they're hugging at the end of the fight.

Oh, bro, I love you. Good job. We made some money and we duped the fans and we tricked them all. This ain't that. Me and Tyrone Woodley genuinely hate each other and we want to kill each other. And that's what's going to be inside the octagon. And when the business is finished, I got nothing to say to him. The only thing I'll probably say to him is, you know, I hope your mom's not watching.

Mama Woodley, don't watch this fight. You don't want to see your son go unconscious in that octagon September 19th. But let me give you one thing, Tyrone, because I know you're sponsored by that whack other energy drink. Here's my last piece of friendly advice for you. Get some bang energy. Stop putting that boo-doo, that garbage in your body that you're getting. I'm not even going to say the whack-ass sponsor that you do. for the energy drink.

You need to get with the best. You need to get with bang energy. What you put in is what you get out. If you want to be the best like me, put in bang energy. Take that sit, man. With the COVID restrictions, international travel is much hard to come by. And so seeing your old friend Mark Goddard as the third man in the cage would be very unlikely, I would guess.

Who knows how things will look in a month? But as part of like the perks that you're looking for in this contract, is that Mark not be anywhere near this fight? since you've had your issues with him coming out of the Usman fight? Yeah, 100%. You know, the UFC knows that I'm not going to ever be in the same room, let alone building it's him ever again. Mark Notso Goddard is not allowed at any fight I'm ever at.

He can stay home in fucking in England, you know, at that anti-Brexit piece of shit. No more fucking me over, dude, man. And no one can say anything because he's so inconsistent with his calls. He calls the early stoppage on me. The next week he lets Frankie Edgar die. The other week, he's taking away three points. The next week, he's letting another guy die.

And then the next week, he's just so inconsistent. He's not a real ref. He's an impartial rep. He's a ref that's getting paid off to, you know, take fights, you know, to pretty much, you know, let guys cheat. And it's not right. It's corrupt. And, you know, if I see that guy, I promise you, like,

I'm not going to be able to hold back. You know, I'll probably end up in jail. And, you know, it'll be worth it just to put a mark on that dude's face. Speaking of Usman, you came on this show after the fight with Jorge Mazadal was made official, and you said, bet Kamara Usman, bet the house on him, it's the easiest money you'll ever make. Was this the easiest money you ever made? Did you make some money off Kamar Usman? Yeah, I made $10,000. The easiest $10,000 I've ever made, you know. And I try to tell the people, I gave them the warning, you know, I told them what was going to happen and how it was going to happen.

That's exactly what happened. He exposed the journeyman, you know, the street Judas, Jorge Mossfadol, you know, he's all hype. He was just lightning and thunder. And then, you know, I called it exactly what he was going to say. His excuse was already built in. Oh, I only had six days notice. Oh, I had to cut 20 pounds. Dude, you don't cut 20 pounds.

You came up from lightweight, dude. You probably weighed 180 soaking wet. Dude, that's an easy cut. And guess what, George? You didn't come in on a week's notice because Dustin Sorrier, your training partner is the one that exposed you in front of the whole world. Dustin came out and interviewed the week of the fight said, Oh, George was in training camp for me versus Hooker the whole time.

He's been training the last three months like he had a crystal ball like he knew the fight was going to happen. So there's no excuses, man. That fight plays out 10 times out of 10 the same exact way that it did. It would be an ultimate footsie championship. And that's what the UFC stand for that night in that fight. It'd be an ultimate hugging match. They're kissing each other's yelling sweet nothing in each other's ears. It was a joke.

I feel bad for the people that paid their harder money to watch that. That's not fighting. Did you actually watch the fight? because you said you weren't going to, but did you give it and actually give it a look on that night? Nah, I was too busy, you know,

working on my bedroom cardio. You know, I had a couple Miami Mamasitas in the building. So, you know, we were doing better things, man. That doesn't entertain me to watch,

you know, other guys fight. That's just boring to me. You know, I could care less. So, you know, I'm out enjoying my life

and live in the American dream every single day with all my South Beach Mamasitas. Regardless of, you know, what you say about Mazadol, that he's, he's thunder and lightning

and such. He's still, you know, he's still a star right now. People are paying to watch him compete. So if they give him another title shot, full camp, no short notice, you know, all that stuff, how would you react if he got another title shot before you got yours? I would just laugh. I would say, you know, okay, you know, you guys want to pay this man for, for what? He's all hyped. Dude, he's got 15 losses. The dude, the only title that Jorge Massev has ever had is for losing for a guy in every single weight class. He's all. He's lost the fly weights. He's lost the Suns Out at 135.

He's lost to 45ers. He got knocked out by the Rodrigo Dan, knocked out by 55ers, Palamino. You know, the Russian dude, beat him up. Dude, he's got so many losses on his record. It's even hard to keep track with him anymore. Yeah, he hit lightning in a bottle, you know, he went on a 50.

He finally got the 50-50 in the last couple years on his record, but, you know, he's all hype and he's built off all hype. And, you know, that's just a marketing machine, you know. But if they want to give him the, fight, you know, I think the fans are going to know that they're being fooled. They're going to know that the UFC is just trying to cash in on money. They're not trying to put the two best fighters up against each other and let's watch fireworks go off because that's not going to be fireworks. This is going to be a patty cake and footsie again. If the UFC kind of goes with

the plan here and moves forward with Usman versus Burns, how do you see that one playing out? You know, I don't even know who that Dilbert guy is. I've never heard of Dilbert. I don't know what a Dilbert is. You know, Marty fake newsman, who knows what that guy is. You know, Marty fake newsman, who knows what that guy is doing. Who knows if he ever comes back to fight. You know, he might have just had that cash grab against the hype machine Street Judas Mosvedon, and he's sailing for the seas, man. He's got nothing else to do in this sport. So who knows if he comes back? He's already making excuses. Oh, I got to take my daughter. I'm going to be out for this long, and I don't want a fight. So, you know, I don't know. I could care less what happens in that

fight. I'm just focused on my fights and giving the people what they want. They want entertainment. They want action. And they want real fights. They don't want footsie. So that's why I'm here to save the day and make UFC and the Welterweight Division great again. How's Colby Covington, Inc. going right now? Are we getting closer to unveiling more information on that? Man, Colby Covington Incorporated is going so smoothly right now. Like, everybody thinks I'm just on the streets, and, you know, they're entitled to think what they want.

You know, I think more will be unveiled when we actually get the fight signed and we're actually talking about the fight. But until then, you know, I had a board meeting the other day with Donald Trump Jr., you know, and I was just talking to him about things. And, you know, I had another board meeting today with Candace Owens. And, you know, we're just chatting about things, making sure we're on the same page. And making sure CCI, Colby Covington Incorporated, is moving along smoothly. So the best is yet to come for us.

You haven't seen anything yet. Oh, yeah. Didn't you do like a live chat thing with one of the Trump's? Was it Donald Jr.? Or was it Eric? I wasn't really sure. It's probably like three weeks a month ago maybe. Am I imagining that?

No, you're, you know, you're imagining that accurate. We had, you know, me and Donald Trump Jr. had a little chat about two or two and a half weeks ago on his podcast triggered. You know, got about five million views. It's a big platform. And, you know, it's always cool to just catch up with Don and just hear from him and all the, all the just fake news and all the just the swamp that he has to navigate, man. I just, I really feel for him and his family. And, you know, I can't thank the Trump family enough for what they do for America. They're fighting, they're fighting back, man. They're fighting for the American people. And people don't. don't realize that, man. China's trying to overtake America and the liberals right now, and nobody's seeing that, man. They're just reading what they see on the internet and what they see on the news and they just believe it, you know, without thinking for themselves. So I wish people would just wake up and have an opinion and think for themselves for once. Have you chat with Dan Lambert recently at all? No, I haven't had any communication with Dan. You know, still got tons of respect

for him, tons of love. You know, he's still a mentor to me. He's still a good friend to me, you know. I'll cherish the memories we had together for the rest of my life. And, you know, I'm sure we'll have a chat again soon and, you know, we'll catch up. You know, who knows? We might be in WWE one day together and, you know, that'll be that. But, you know, there's no hard feelings. There's no bad blood. It's nothing but love for Dan Lambert.

I know you don't watch a ton of fights. You like to bet on some fights, make a couple bucks. You said you have other things to do behind closed doors. But Steep A versus DC3 is coming up on Saturday. Final fight of Daniel Cormey's illustrious career. this fight interest you at all on Saturday night? Yeah, it definitely interests me, but interesting me and getting me to watch it are two different things. You know, I won't be watching it. I got better things to do. You know, I'm going to enjoy

my weekend, my weekend of freedom here in America, the freest country of all, because of the brave, you know, all our servicemen out there. Thank you to every service member out there that puts their life on the line. You know, war, there is no, there's no, you know, there's no, there's no holidays for war. year round, man. It's a 24-7 thing. And these guys are protecting our rights, you know, our constitutional rights that we have in America. They're protecting them every day. And, you know, those guys don't get enough credit.

But, you know, back to the fight, you know, I got a lot of admiration and respect for Daniel Cormier. You know, he's a legend of a career, you know. I made an Instagram post about him a year or two ago calling him the Natty Go. And I really do feel like he is the Natty goat. And by that, I mean, Natty as a natural. He's the natural greatest of all time. You see all these other guys that they try.

and compare the goats, yeah, these are all guys that did steroids. So let's talk about natural. And that's what Daniel is. He's the embodiment of just a good person and a good soul. And, you know, I wish him well this weekend. You know, Steve is another, you know, great person too. You know, he's a firefighter. He's a first responder. So I got to give a lot of love to him and what he does for the people of his city and around the world. So, you know, I wish those guys the best. You know, it's tough to really pick a fight because they're both pretty good guys. but, you know, if I had to pick a winner, I'd probably go with D.C. Yeah, the smaller octagon, all things involved, last fight.

I mean, I'm a storyline guy. You're a per wrestling guy yourself, so storylines are huge. So as far as you go, verbles are in place for September 19th. Nothing has been signed yet. We're still awaiting on that. You know me, Colby. I'm a believer that anybody could be watching at any time. What's the message for Tyron Woodley here?

Show up, man. We know you're cloud chasing on. on the internet right now. We know you're looking for a couple of likes, a couple extra followers because your career is about to be dead after you meet up with me. So show up, man. You were supposed to show up August 22nd. You didn't want to do that. You needed a little more time. September 19th, you've called your shot. Come get it, boy. It has been long brood for many, many years. Come see me, motherfucker. We're going to find out who the best is. And after I get done with you, you're not going to be recognizable to your family. And we know you're just showing up for

that paycheck to pay all those mousey. you got to feed because we know you got kids with multiple wives and multiple women. So, you know, show up. Last thing for you go, probably like an hour and a half, maybe two hours for we hit record here. Joe Biden selected Kamala Harris as his running mate to go against Donald Trump. What do you make of this move? And did you see this? You know, of course Joe Biden had to get someone that was black because, you know,

he's not going to get the black vote because if, And to quote, this is quoting Joe Biden. You're not black if you vote for President Trump. That's exactly what he said. So, you know, he killed the black vote. He's not going to get the black vote. And he's racist. He's blatantly racist.

He said multiple times interviews, oh, the black. You know, he was talking the other day about, you know, all the blacks and this and that. They're not anything like the Spanish or something like that. And it's just like, dude, you shoot yourself in the foot every time we talk. Everybody knows Joe Biden's a puppet. He's a puppet for all the big tech companies, all the liberal people in Hollywood, all the, all the people that are controlling him, you know. But, you know, you can control him all you want, but America sees the truth.

They sees the truth that Joe Biden stuck in his basement. He won't come out and give an answer or do interviews with a guy like you or anybody because, you know, he doesn't have a teleprompter. And they're not going to be answers that, you know, he already has up on the board that he can look at. So, you know, Joe Biden's going to get exposed in the election. And yeah, they're trying to keep the economy down right now. And they're trying to do this fake pandemic with this BS coronavirus stuff. And they're just doing that. It's just a hit at Donald Trump.

And people don't even see that. They can't open up their eyes. You know, what's different from coronavirus versus the regular flu? The regular flu kills times six many people. When did we ever shut the country down to have to put masks and take away our freedoms and put masks on our face? No, we never had to do that. So, you know, I wish people would stop being cheap. wake up, make a decision for yourself, and please do not vote Joe Biden.

Because if you vote for Joe Biden, America will never be the same. It will be owned by China. There you go, paid for by Colby Covington right there. A little political advice to wrap things up. Always appreciate the time, man. You're always very gracious with it. You know, you've got things to do. All the best to you.

Hopefully this fight happens on September 19th, man. I know everyone's looking forward to it. I know you're looking forward to getting back in there. But Colby Covington Incorporated seems to be alive and well here, heading into September 19th, hopefully. So thank you for the time as always, man. My brother. Thank you, Michael.

Have a great day, and we'll catch up soon. Really? Spider-Man, what's up, brother? You've been waiting? Yeah, it's my seven-year-old. That's awesome. You've been waiting. You've been waiting how long for this?

You were sitting at the stairs for the last like 10 minutes, just waiting and sneaking around trying to get in there. You want to say hi to Colby Covington? Yeah. Say hi. Hi. Hey, what's up, buddy? What's your name? What's your name? Spider-Man. So you're living that moment right now.

That's Grayson, by the way. That's his real name. Nice to meet you, Grayson. Thanks, man. I appreciate it, brother. Take care. Absolutely. Have a great day. Later, man.