Former UFC interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier saw a change in Colby Covington once “Chaos” started finding success in the UFC.
Covington is slated to face Jorge Masvidal in the main event of UFC 272 next month. It is a welterweight grudge match between two former friends and former American Top Team teammates and a fight that fans have wanted for a long time.
Covington and Masvidal are both looking to get back in the win column after losses to welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. A win could propel one of them back into the title picture at 170 pounds.
One of the biggest storylines of the Covington/Masvidal beef is when Covington split with ATT to join MMA Masters in south Florida. He was allegedly kicked out of the gym after several near-brawls broke out over time between Covington and multiple members of the team, including Masvidal.
During a recent guest fighter interview at UFC 271, Poirier detailed what would eventually lead to Covington’s withdrawal from ATT.
“He was winning fights in the UFC, and he started getting that shtick,” Poirier said. “He was winning fights, but he wasn’t getting the attention. Then, he kinda started switching. And at the beginning of it, it was kinda funny, kinda cool. But there was a point where he started believing all that craziness and started being that person. And that’s when things started changing.”
Poirier and Covington used to be on friendly terms during their early days at ATT. When asked before about a potential fight against Covington, Poirier shut down the idea despite months of trash talk aimed at Poirier.
Poirier most recently fell to UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira at UFC 269 and is pondering his next move. He has previously teased a potential move up to welterweight and a fight against his longtime adversary Nate Diaz.
The Covington/ATT beef doesn’t appear to be letting up anytime soon, and fans shouldn’t expect pleasantries between Covington and Poirier should they run into each other leading up to UFC 272 fight week.
What is your take on the way Colby Covington carries himself?
