UFC fighter Colby Covington appeared to threaten a TV commentator's life in an unhinged rant
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- Colby Covington appeared to threaten broadcaster Jon Anik in an unhinged rant Tuesday.
- It was seemingly all over an innocuous tweet Anik posted last week.
- A welterweight rival of Covington's, Belal Muhammad, leaped to Anik's defense.
American wrestler Colby Covington appeared to threaten a TV commentator's life in an unhinged rant Tuesday.
"Dude, I don't want your kids to grow up without a dad," he said during an interview with MMA Fighting, in a statement aimed at UFC analyst Jon Anik.
"[But] just realize, you live in Boca, I live in Miami, motherfucker. You're not too far from me so you better shut your fucking mouth."
A possible reason for Covington's grievance with Anik stems from events that unfolded in the build-up to the UFC's last big pay-per-view event in London.
One day before UFC 286 at the 02 Arena — where Leon Edwards went on to defeat Kamaru Usman for a second time in a welterweight title defense — Covington surprised observers when he weighed in as a backup for the main event.
Covington wasn't needed on the night but is now in line to fight Edwards in the Briton's second title defense later this year.
"[I] understand acutely why Colby Covington was the back-up but hard not to feel for Belal Muhammad," Anik tweeted at the time, alluding to Muhammad's nine-fight unbeaten streak.
—Jon Anik (@Jon_Anik) March 17, 2023
Anik went on to point out that the fighter "hasn't lost in 4-plus years" and just knocked out "a previously undefeated fighter" in Sean Brady.
This seemed to rankle Covington
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It is unclear if Covington was playing up to a gimmick he has seemingly created, in which he says heinous things, or if he really has animosity toward Anik — a respected figure in the MMA industry.
However, of Anik, Covington said: "He's supposed to be impartial, he's supposed to have that headset, he's supposed to be an interviewer, he's supposed to remain impartial.
"You want to be a cheerleader? Put down the headset, pick up the pom-poms, go on the side, and be a cheerleader."
He finished by later remarking: "You poke the bear, now you get the bear comes after you."
Muhammad leaped to Anik's defense
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It didn't take long for Muhammad, who will likely have to fight rising phenom Shavkat Rakhmonov to earn his own title shot, to leap to Anik's defense.
"You're coming at a guy like Jon Anik, who is the nicest guy in the world, and why? Because Jon Anik gave me an interview?" Muhammad said in a separate interview with MMA Fighting.
The UFC's next pay-per-view show is in Covington's hometown of Miami, for UFC 287 at the Miami-Dade Arena, and Muhammad said he hopes to bump into his welterweight rival there.
"I told Jon, I texted Jon, and I said I can't wait to come to Miami in two weeks because I'm cornering my teammate Ignacio Bahamondes, and I wish I see Colby there.
"I wish that he even looks at Jon in a certain way of disrespect. I swear I'm going to walk right up to him and slap him right in his mouth."
He finished: "You're threatening a commentator, and you're acting all this tough talk right now to a guy like Jon Anik? It just pisses me off."
Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya headline the UFC 287 main event, with Gilbert Burns and Jorge Masvidal in the co-main.
As the UFC's lead play-by-play guy, Anik will likely resume his role in the commentary booth for the broadcast package available to ESPN subscribers.