Covington claims Usman needed PEDs to beat Masvidal

Colby Covington claims Kamaru Usman was juiced up at UFC 261.

Colby Covington has — once again — accused Kamaru Usman of using performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), claiming that the ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ used EPO in his welterweight title defense against Jorge Masvidal at UFC 261.

Usman KO’d Masvidal in the second round to retain his welterweight title, but Covington claims the defending champ was gassed after the first round and advised him to find a new chemist.

“No way I’m impressed by that. Did you guys not see how gassed he was at the end of the first round? I mean, Marty Juiceman, he’s the CEO of EPO,” Covington told Submission Radio in a recent interview (h/t Jesse Holland of MMA Mania). “So, I didn’t see anything special. If anything, he needs to find a new chemist, a new scientist to get him some new formulated drugs, because he looked like shit. He was gassed in the end of that first round, he was done. If he’s fighting me in there, he doesn’t last three rounds fighting like that.”

Covington is expected to face Usman in a replay of their first championship bout at UFC 245, shutting down the idea of a grudge match with former teammate turned arch rival Masvidal.

“What did we expect? Street Judas has got what, 20 losses on his record? I mean, the guy’s a joke,” Covington said. “I’m going to be champion when I beat Marty Fakenewsman in a couple of months, why would I fight a journeyman, a guy who’s on two straight losses, just got knocked out unconscious on the biggest stage. The guy’s fragile, man. He’s got no chin. To be honest, what I make of it is, no commission would approve me fighting him. That would be suicide, man. Look at what Marty just did to him. Can you imagine what I would do to him?”

Covington, who suffered a fifth-round TKO defeat to Usman in 2019, is hoping to avenge his loss by August. ‘Chaos’ is currently #1 in the UFC welterweight rankings.