ANAHEIM, Calif. – UFC star Nate Diaz got the biggest pop from the crowd at UFC 241. But Colby Covington was a close second.
The former interim welterweight champion briefly stole focus from a pay-per-view bout between Derek Brunson and Ian Heinisch when fans at Honda Center yelled “Colby sucks,” along with other expletive-filled chants.
UFC president Dana White declared Covington officially is “very unpopular, but popular.” But he’s apparently not popular enough to register with Diaz, who claimed not to know the brash, Donald Trump-loving fighter after a decision win over Anthony Pettis in the co-headliner of Saturday’s event.
“Who’s it? What weight?” Diaz asked in response to a question about potentially fighting Covington. “I don’t know who that is, so like if we’ve got somebody good to fight.
“If you’ve been here for two weeks and get a little hype show, I don’t give a (expletive).”
Diaz spent several minutes railing at the fighters he’d left behind during a three-year absence from the sport. He said the UFC didn’t promote the toughest people and instead jumped from fad to fad. He said such an approach is the reason for his years-ago callout of Conor McGregor, which led to two fights that certified Diaz as a star.
Diaz said the UFC should be promoting the “baddest mother(expletive) belt.” The interim title Covington currently carries around is apparently not that.
