Colby Covington may have backed himself into a corner in his recent war of words with Ian Machado Garry. That’s how former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier feels, anyway.

The one-time interim UFC welterweight champion Covington isn’t fond of making friends in MMA, and Garry has been no exception on his recent rise to contendership. Fresh off a tough unanimous decision title loss to the champion Leon Edwards at UFC 296 in December, Covington has turned his attention to the undefeated 14-0 Irish star.

Despite his lengthy video callouts of “The Future,” Covington has tried to maintain that he doesn’t need to fight down in the rankings against someone like Garry, who is on the come-up. The pair have exchanged shots in recent months and now it feels like we’re only waiting on the promotion to make the bout official. Covington has already lost thrice in undisputed title opportunities, and after the most recent, Cormier sees Garry as a perfect fight for both. Now that “Chaos” has even entertained it, he might have to back his talk up for the final sake of his brash character and reputation.

“Colby has to fight him,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “The one thing about Colby Covington, and granted, I’m a guy that gets along with Covington. I like Colby Covington. I think that Colby Covington is playing a role, and it annoys a lot of people, but I like Colby.

“The one thing about Colby was, for all the things he said and for all the annoyance, the way that he messed with people, he always showed up to fight anybody. There was never a matchup that he said no to. I think we’re at a point now with this Ian Garry thing, where he has to fight him.”

If the 36-year-old Covington’s last five fights (2-3 record) are any indication of his status, he’s always one fight away from a title shot. Covington’s last two wins were a part of one-fight winning “streaks” that earned him title shots against Kamaru Usman and the aforementioned Edwards.

Even after the worst stretch of his career, Cormier could see Covington remaining right in that title picture by taking out Garry. Should Edwards drop the title by the time the potential matchup were to happen, it would only bolster the chances of that. Ultimately, Covington hasn’t been one to talk his trash and not show up.

Well, some may argue against that in the case of his last fight, but he still made it to the octagon. That counts for something in “D.C.’s” book.

”With all the insults, with all the things he’s said, personally, professionally, now you gotta go and fight him because that’s what he’s always done,” Cormier said. “When he spoke about Kamaru Usman in weird ways or disrespectful ways, he fought Kamaru Usman. When he talked about Leon Edwards, he fought Leon Edwards. When he talked about anybody, he fought them if that was an option.

“Chael Sonnen was another one. When Chael was disrespectful to Anderson [Silva], he fought him. At the end of the day, if you’re going to take this role, or play the villain in everybody’s story, the villain always has to get his comeuppance, or whatever they call that. Where he has to, at some point, step in front of the sword, and fight. He’s got to step on that battlefield, and he’s got to show that he’s willing to stand behind his words. I think that’s where we’re at right now in this Colby Covington-Ian Garry deal.”

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VIDEO STEW

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LISTEN UP

No Bets Barred. MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew and Conner Burks discuss if Brendan Allen can get revenge over Chris Curtis at UFC Vegas 90.

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MORNING MUSIC

Go to Twitter, use the #MorningReport hashtag, or find one of my tweets with it, and drop me a jam you’re currently really into. I’ll pick the best one alongside my daily choice and give you a shoutout! You can also share in the comments below — those are just harder to sift through sometimes!

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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Goal.

Not always.

Tired but happy.

Fights on ice are always a treat.

Reaction.

Which?

Not on Cub’s watch.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Pedro Falcão (16-3) vs. Victor Hugo (24-4); UFC Vegas 90, April 6

Chihiro Sawada (7-0-1) vs. Noelle Grandjean (5-1); ONE Fight Night 22, May 4

JJ Aldrich (13-6) vs. Veronica Hardy (8-4-1); UFC St. Louis, May 11

Hyun Sung Park (9-0) vs. Andre Lima (8-0); UFC 302, June 1

Niko Price (15-7, 2 NC) vs. Jeremiah Wells (12-4-1); UFC 302, June 1

Thiago Moisés (18-7) vs. Ľudovít Klein (21-4-1); UFC Vegas 93, June 8

Charles Radtke (9-3) vs. Carlos Prates (18-6); UFC Vegas 93, June 8

Muin Gafurov (18-6) vs. Kyung Ho Kang (19-10, 1 NC); UFC Saudi Arabia, June 22

Sinead Kavanagh (9-6) vs. Arlene Blencowe (15-10); Bellator Dublin, June 22

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FINAL THOUGHTS

I mean, the funny thing is that Covington will fight Garry if he’s told to. It doesn’t matter what he’s said. Saying he’s a “company man” while trying to impose stipulations is completely contradictory. I’ve already probably put too much thought into these antics. Just match them up and let’s go from there. Thank you.

Thanks for reading!

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EXIT POLL

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