Colby Covington reaffirms he won’t let Dana White put belt on him, hopes another celebrity will

It’s tradition for UFC President Dana White to wrap the belt around the winner of each UFC title fight. If Colby Covington defeats Kamaru Usman in the main event of UFC 245 this weekend, though, don’t expect to see the UFC boss adorning him with the belt.

Ahead of the fight, Covington has made it clear that he doesn’t want White anywhere near him in the cage.

“Everybody knows I ain’t got nothing to say to Uncle Fester,” Covington said at a panel on Wednesday (via MMA Junkie). “He’s not going to wrap that belt (around my waist) on Saturday night. I promise you that.”

Covington has been vocal about his disdain for White ever since the UFC boss awarded Usman a shot at former champion Tyron Woodley earlier this year. Yet the top welterweight contender says he was also put off by the UFC’s recent “BMF” title fight between Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz.

This one-off title fight topped the November UFC 244 card in New York. Masvidal, a former friend and training partner of Covington, won the fight by stoppage. He was then adorned with the title by pro wrestling legend Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

None of that went over well with Covington, who now wants another celebrity to wrap the title around his waist: conservative commentator Candace Owens.

“It was tradition until they did the ‘Broken Mediocre Fighting’ championship last (month) in New York, and they gave away that Bernie Sanders participation trophy, and they let The Rock put it on ‘Journeyman Jorge’ (Masvidal),” Covington said. “So, I want Candace Owens to put it around my waist on Saturday night.”

Colby Covington is currently riding an impressive, seven-fight streak, highlighted by lopsided wins over Dong Hyun Kim, Demian Maia, Rafael dos Anjos, and most recently, former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler. He will enter his fight with Usman as a slight betting underdog.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 12/12/2019.