"You are everything America is not about" - Ali Abdelaziz lashes out at Colby Covington, warns former title challenger would 'smash' his face
Colby Covington returned to the ring after almost two years on Saturday night and Ali Abdelaziz was not impressed with his demeanor or his performance.
Ali Abdelaziz is the manager of some of the most prominent MMA fighters, such as Islam Makhachev, Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns. Following UFC 296, the manager made some comments towards Covington and warned him that 'Durinho' would smash his face. Abdelaziz was not impressed with what 'Chaos' said and did in the build-up to UFC 296:
"@ColbyCovMMA please stop talk about America , you are everything America is not about , America is great and you suck After @GilbertDurinho handle business he will smash your face"
Take a look at the tweet below:
In the build-up to UFC 296, Covington kept talking about 'Making America Great Again' by voting for Donald Trump. He even said it during his interview inside the octagon following his loss to Leon Edwards in the main event. The American has always been very vocal about his political leanings and has never been one to shy away from controversy.
Gilbert Burns last fought in May this year against Belal Muhammad, a fight he took on short notice and ended up losing. He is looking to return in 2024.
Colby Covington claims he lost to Leon Edwards because of his support for Donald Trump
Despite getting dominated for nearly the entire fight, when the bell rang after round five, Colby Covington got up and started celebrating as if he won. Even in his interviews after the fight, he claimed he won that fight and even said it was the easiest fight of his UFC career when questioned by Joe Rogan.
During his post-fight press conference, he revealed why he lost to Edwards:
"I did enough in the third you know, he didn't put any damage on me. He got a couple low kicks but then I started checking them at the end. So, you know, I thought I had the win, I thought I did enough but the judges have never favored me. They hate me because I support Trump and everybody hates Trump in this building."
Watch a clip from the press conference below:
Covington kept saying Leon Edwards did not hurt him despite having to walk back to the dressing room with ice on both his knees and visible cuts to his face. He has challenged for the title three times and has not been able to win even once.