Colby Covington didn’t take long to notice Jon Jones’ social media attacks in reaction to his UFC Tampa main event loss to Joaquin Buckley.
Colby Covington’s latest attempt at moving closer to potential UFC gold fell well short of the mark at UFC Tampa. It was a dominant performance by Joaquin Buckley, who defeated Covington by TKO after the cage-side doctor ruled Covington couldn’t continue competing due to a nasty head gash.
In the leadup to UFC Tampa, Covington revamped his longtime beef with UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who used to share a room with him during their time at Iowa Central Community College.
Photos by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images, Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC
It didn’t take long for Covington to address Jones’ tweet during a recent stream on his Twitch channel.
Colby Covington roasts ‘Cheater’ Jon Jones over post-fight tweet
“Of course Jones is talking about me, he wishes he looked like me, a guy that was this beautiful and had this much respect. He has no respect,” Covington said of Jones. “He lost all respect when he started doing drugs and hitting pregnant ladies. There’s nothing to respect about Jon. Cheated his whole career, on his wife, on his taxes, so he’s a terrible person.
“Of course he talked about a saint and someone who is a law-abiding citizen like myself! Someone who stands for law and order, the military, troops. So f*** Jon Jones, he’s nothing!”
Jones defeated Stipe Miocic in his first heavyweight title defense last month at UFC 309, in front of Covington’s favorite U.S. President Trump. After defeating Miocic, Jones shook hands with the incoming U.S. President and did his famous dance during his post-fight celebrations.
With the loss to Buckley, Covington has dropped four of his last six fights, including two title fight losses to Kamaru Usman. His last win came against former American Top Team ally Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272.
Jon Jones is nearing 2025 return against Tom Aspinall
Meanwhile, Jones is turning his attention towards ongoing negotiations with the UFC brass over a potential 2025 return. While the heavyweight champion is confident he’ll return for at least one more fight, he wants a restructured contract and a lucrative payout to face interim champ Tom Aspinall.
Covington faces a dwindling set of options for opponents if he wants to return to the Octagon in 2025. He was briefly linked to a potential clash with Ian Machado Garry at UFC 303, but fight talks fell through.
As for Covington and Jones, their bad blood continues to boil from afar, and things will likely never be cordial between the two sides. Expect more animosity between them to build as they prepare for their UFC return fights.
