Colby Covington may have hunted down Dana White in a casino late Thursday night and unwillingly put him on camera for the confrontation but the UFC president holds no ill will towards the former interim welterweight champion.
That’s the word from White on Friday after he was asked about Covington’s unconventional method to get his attention after flying to Las Vegas ahead of UFC 235 this weekend.
Covington expected to face reigning welterweight champion Tyron Woodley but instead it was Kamaru Usman who ultimately received the shot at the title.
Covington has lashed out at the UFC while specifically targeting White as the reason why he’s not competing for the title despite his interim title win and his No. 1 ranking in division.
Despite showing up unannounced while White was gambling on his own free, Covington will face no recourse for his actions and the UFC boss says in reality the altercation wasn’t nearly as bad is it seemed.
“Everybody thinks I hate this kid. I don’t hate this kid,” White said about Covington at the UFC 236 pre-fight press conference on Friday. “Even after last night, I don’t hate the kid. Last night wasn’t as bad as it looked on video. It looked like whatever but we were cool and we talked last night and face to face he gets it.
“He knows he didn’t take the fight so he didn’t get the fight.”
White points directly at UFC 228 last year when Covington was offered the opportunity to face Woodley but turned down the fight because he was scheduled to have nasal surgery to repair his sinuses.
White says that when opportunity knocks, fighters have to answer and that’s what cost Covington more than anything else in this entire situation.
“Colby Covington is another perfect example. He was offered the fight, he didn’t take the fight,” White stated. “He can come up with a million excuses why he didn’t. He didn’t take the fight.
“You’re the interim champ, you were next in line for Tyron Woodley, we offered you the fight in Dallas, somewhere in Texas, he didn’t take the fight and that’s that.”
White didn’t say if Covington was next in line for the title shot or not but both Woodley and Usman have said they hope to face him after they finish their business on Saturday night in Las Vegas at UFC 235.
