Covington explains why he turned down Woodley fight at UFC 228
Colby Covington: “I had little health issues after my fight, so I’m getting those taken care of and by the year’s end I will unify my belt and retire Tyron Woodley for good.”
Ariel Helwani recently reported that the UFC was considering stripping interim welterweight champion Colby Covington, after a declined a fight vs. division champ Tyron Woodley at UFC 228 on September 8. Covington appeared recently on Submission Radio at explained his side of the issue.
We’re looking at doing it in November, December,” said Covington. “I need a little time off, I need to do a little recovering. I’m only human, man, I gotta get a little vacation. I just can’t keep running my body through the ground, going through training camps. You have to be strategic, and you know, November, December works for me. I had little health issues after my fight, so I’m getting those taken care of and by the year’s end I will unify my belt and retire Tyron Woodley for good.
I think the storyline that makes the most sense, this is the biggest fight that the UFC’s gonna make this year. There’s still questions regarding when Conor’s coming back, who knows when he’s coming back. They don’t know when DC’s gonna fight again because he’s got a broken hand. So, this is the biggest fight that UFC can serve. So, if you wanna serve the biggest fight between Colby Chaos Covington and TyQuil Woodley, they need to serve it up at the world’s most iconic arena, and that’s Madison Square Garden in Manhattan New York. So, that makes the most sense for the fight.
Covington was asked about the nature of his injuries.
That’s something that’s not to be talked about right now,” replied. “But I’ll be healthy by year’s end. You know, I just need a little time to myself, I need a little time to recharge. You know, I can’t just be fighting six times a year, you know? I wanna fight three, four times a year. I’m getting my body healthy, I’m getting everything good to go and I’ll be back there in no time and I’m gonna change the sport forever. My next fight, mark my words right now, I’m gonna do something that’s never been done before in this sport and I’m gonna change the sport forever. It’s gonna be made great again.
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