Belal Muhammad shrugs off Colby Covington's callout: "Ian Garry’s a bad matchup for you?"
Belal Muhammad has recently dismissed Colby Covington's callout, labeling him as a "joke." Muhammad believes that Covington is making this move in a bid to gain attention after losing at UFC 296.
Covington, a three-time title challenger and one-time interim champion, was always close to the top of the UFC welterweight standings. In his third attempt to win the 170-pound title, Covington was defeated by reigning champion Leon Edwards via unanimous decision at UFC 296.
With his broken foot healed, Covington has begun to plan his return to the UFC, and he has finally named Muhammad as a potential opponent.
Muhammad had consistently called out the best fighters in the welterweight class before receiving a crack at the title, with Covington regularly at the top of his wish list. Having been ignored when he called for that fight for years, the 36-year-old feels that he is now repaying the favor by dismissing Covington's request to face him. In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, he said:
''That was honestly the funniest thing. I’m not even going to bring attention to it because then I’m going to have a back-and-forth with him. This guy’s a joke now. He understands he’s a joke now. So he’s trying to go out there and call out these bigger names now. He’s calling out me, he’s calling out [Charles] Oliveira. Ian Garry’s not worth it. Why, because Ian Garry’s a bad matchup for you?'' [H/t: MMA Fighting]
The UFC is yet to announce Covington's upcoming fight. Meanwhile, Muhammad is gearing up for his title fight against Edwards at UFC 304 on July 27.
Belal Muhammad advises Colby Covington to retire from combat sports
Colby Covington previously named former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliviera and Belal Muhammad as his potential opponents in his return to octagon following his loss at UFC 296.
However, Muhammad downplayed Covington's callout in the aforementioned interview. In a prior interview with The Schmo, 'Remember the Name' poked fun at Covington and advised him to retire from combat sports, saying:
''Honestly, Colby Covington just needs to retire, there’s literally nothing left for him. He’s still trying to attach his glory days to three or four years ago when they thought he was good, but I think everyone figured out now that he sucks, and I think that right now he’s just trying to figure out who’s gonna be the next person that he can beat up and then he can get on the mic and talk trash.”
Check out Belal Muhammad's comments below (6:05):