Jeff Smith 
@adminColby Covington has started taking shots at Kamaru Usman before his fight with Jorge Masvidal has even happened. Covington claims that Usman has been ducking him for over a year after Usman defeated him at UFC 245.
The fight was stopped in the fifth round by a TKO that “Chaos” claims was a hasty decision by the referee and that Usman cheated throughout the match. “The Nigerian Nightmare” of course denies the allegations and chalks it up to the former intern champion rationalizing his loss.
With the championship fight about to happen in Jacksonville at UFC 261, there is already a little debate as to what will happen after. If Masvidal wins it would give both men one victory each, and Masvidal the title. It is a given that Usman will want a rematch to get his title back.
That being said UFC president Dana White has promised Covington the next title shot. Everyone is just expecting it to be Usman as he is such a heavy favorite to win. But if he loses that could leave Covington out in the cold.
Covington didn’t limit his disdain for just “The Nigerian Nightmare” he was very open about his feelings for both fighters. In an interview with sports reporter Helen Yee, he let loose saying,
“I see myself finishing Usman if we fight again but to be honest, I think he’s gonna retire. I think after this weekend he retires. He knows what’s ahead of him now, he knows I’m the next up for him and he knows he can’t beat me. He’s been in there with me, he knows how tough I am. He’s been in there with Jorge and he knows how easy he is so that’s why he’s taking this easy paycheck again when Jorge hasn’t done anything to earn this fight. He lost 50-43 and then he sat on the sideline ducking me and then all of a sudden he gets to fight for a title again? Something’s not adding up. I just honestly think that Usman and Masvidal are gonna retire before ever having to fight me because they know what’s gonna happen. The embarrassment that goes, the public embarrassment. They don’t want to get embarrassed in front of the whole world and that’s what I would do to them.”
“I know I’m next in line, it doesn’t matter who wins on Saturday night. Dana White said I’m next in line, I’m next in line. They can’t deny me. They’ve delayed me long enough, I will not be denied.”
If you are looking to place a bet on the fight as we have mentioned before Masvidal is a massive underdog, ranging from +350 to at best +285. So if you really like “Gamebread” to “pull one out of the hat”, you could win some money. However, you should probably look at betting the over/under, or, with such a great card line-up, look at a parlay. Never forget about the undercards, they can make a difference to your wallet.
