Colby Covington calls Jake Paul ‘an embarrassment to society,’ predicts Ben Askren to beat him

Colby Covington and Ben Askren have never been too fond of each other. But when it comes to Jake Paul and the current welterweight title picture, they can put their differences aside.

Set to make his pro boxing debut against Paul in two weeks on April 17, Askren is continually gaining support and belief in his abilities from his MMA peers. Surely to the surprise of many, that includes the lone-wolf in Covington.

“Hopefully Ben goes out there and knocks out Jake Paul,” Colby Covington told Helen Yee. “I’m just sick of hearing him talk. He’s just running his mouth and there’s no substance behind anything he says.

“I think he will [beat Paul], I think he’s just going to put that pressure on him. If he uses the clinch and just ties him up and just gets him tired, there’s no doubt he has a better gas tank than Jake Paul – some little YouTuber. The kid’s a complete joke, he’s an embarrassment to society, he’s an embarrassment to the MMA and boxing world in general. I hope Ben goes out there and shuts his mouth.”

While Askren has gained the support of Covington going into his match, the positivity has gone the other way as well.

With Jorge Masvidal having been granted an immediate rematch against UFC champion Kamaru Usman, “Funky” has openly shared how he believes a Colby Covington vs. Usman rematch would have been more logical. Usman vs. Masvidal 2 takes place the week after Askren vs. Paul on April 24 at UFC 261.

“Me and Ben have had a feud and he’s always talked sh*t about me in the media,” Covington said. “We’ve exchanged not-so-nice words in the past and the fact that he’s coming out showing support for me shows that I deserve [the title shot] more than anybody right now and he knows that I’ve been putting in the work. He knows that Jorge Masvidal is scared to fight me.

“Since he ran from me for six months and was scared to fight me, how do you reward that guy and give him another title shot? It doesn’t make sense, I don’t think the fans are happy with it, I think they’re showing by their comments, their support of me, they want to see me back out there, they know I’m the best show inside the Octagon and outside the Octagon.”

For Colby Covington, his last time out saw him rebound off of his fifth-round TKO loss to Usman at UFC 245. “Chaos” did so by earning a fifth-round TKO of his own against former champion Tyron Woodley in September.