Colby Covington is not happy with the UFC’s matchmaking for the White House event.
A big advocate for U.S. President Donald Trump, Covington (17-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) was snubbed out of a spot at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14. Headlining the event is a lightweight title-unification bout between champion Ilia Topuria and interim champ Justin Gaethje.
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Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) is a big favorite over Gaethje (27-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC), and Covington sees it as a mismatch.
“You’d think that there would be more American fighters on it from top to bottom,” Covington said on Daniel Cormier’s YouTube channel. “You’d think that there would maybe be some favorable matchups for the American, but to send Gaethje out there to get slaughtered – I mean, Topuria is the best fighter on the planet right now.
“No one can, I think, dispute that. The way he’s just finishing these guys: (Max) Holloway, (Alexander) Volkanovski and (Charles) Oliveira, he’s just on another level right now. He’s in his prime, and Gaethje is on his way down, and there’s no beating father time.”
Covington highlighted another matchup on the card, where the American fighter isn’t favored to win.
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“I just feel like they could have put more Americans and bigger fights, and they didn’t put the best American fighters on the card,” Covington said. “They put Gaethje – he’s a good American fighter for sure, but there’s other great American fighters.
“I’m happy Sean O’Malley is on there. He’s going to put on a good show for sure. But Michael Chandler? 41, 42-year-old Michael Chandler? He’s a punching bag now. So, another guy – he’s being sent to slaughter on our birthday for America.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Colby Covington: Justin Gaethje getting slaughtered at UFC Freedom 250
