Colby Covington has been making headlines after he offered a controversial statement at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 119. Directly after defeating Demian Maia, Covington told the Sao Paulo crowd that Brazil is a “dump” and its citizens are “filthy animals.” Since then, fighters and fans have been offering their opinions on the fighter’s statement over social media.
Fellow American Top Team member and reigning UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes took to Twitter to call Covington a “D bag” for his remarks.
Just a D BAG
— Amanda Nunes (@Amanda_Leoa) October 29, 2017
MMA veteran Antonio Silva also offered some heated words on the fighter over Instagram. Silva stated:
“Colby you are an anti professional and dirty person, I’ll show you how to respect my country and my people.”
Now Colby Covington has provided a response to the recent heat he has been receiving from fighters and fans. Speaking to MMA Junkie, Covington explained that it does not greatly bother him.
“I don’t really care about Amanda Nunes. I don’t really care about ‘Bigfoot’ Silva, you know. They’re not my friends. They never have been my friends, and they never will be my friends.”
Speaking on the environment at American Top Team, Covington added:
“It’s not a team. I’m not part of a team,” Covington said. “… We’re not in a points-scoring system like basketball or football, where it’s a team. This is an individual sport. I do represent American Top Team, but I don’t represent any other fighters in that gym.”
“There’s always been a dividing line between the Americans and the Brazilians,” Covington said. “I’ve said this since Day 1: There’s a lot of cliques in the gym. If you go back through my interviews, then you know this is nothing new that I haven’t said before. So it is what it is.”
