For nearly seven years, the rivalry between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington in the UFC welterweight division has been as fierce outside the octagon as it has within. Their first backstage skirmish happened at the UFC 223 press conference in Brooklyn, New York, where they made quite the splash, drawing even Khabib Nurmagomedov into the fray as he humorously implored them not to “broke bus.”
Such dramatic episodes often have a way of escalating, potentially involving handcuffs, a reality all too familiar in the high-stakes world of professional fighting.
As their careers progressed, Usman bested Covington not once, but twice in title bouts, first claiming victory at UFC 245, and then delivering a repeat performance at UFC 268. The saga took an unexpected turn when “The Nigerian Nightmare” made an impromptu appearance on Covington’s live Twitch stream just ahead of UFC Vegas 102.
Thankfully, their latest run-in avoided any physical drama.
Covington later recounted the moment to his fans, explaining, “Usman came up and said, ‘Hey man, we’ll chat later,’ probably because he wasn’t keen on having our conversation broadcast to the live chat. We’ll definitely catch up soon—maybe we’ll get a picture, or maybe it’ll turn into a fight. You can never tell when ‘Chaos’ is around; anything could happen.” Though, I’d argue that Covington’s antics have become somewhat predictable.
The 36-year-old Covington drew some online scorn after his attempt to sound tough fell flat. He spoke about declining to shake Usman’s hand, despite having extended his own in the first place—a gesture Usman rejected. Twitter users were quick to point out the cringe factor in yet another failed attempt to maintain his bravado.
As of now, both fighters are without upcoming bouts, leaving fans eager to see what happens next in this ongoing rivalry.
