Kamaru Usman Tells Tyron Woodley He’ll Do His “Dirty Work” by Fighting Colby Covington

Kamaru Usman has certainly made the case that he deserves a title shot, but the rising welterweight says he’s more than willing to battle Colby Covington, before facing Tyron Woodley.

Usman has reported in the past that’s been offered fights with Covington, but the well-rounded fighter claimed “Chaos” passed on each occasion. Well, following Usman’s impressive win over Rafael dos Anjos last weekend at the TUF 28 Finale, Usman is reporting he’s been offered a fight with Covington in January. Usman reported the news while talking with TMZ Sports.

Here is some of what he had to say (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“I’m gonna go out there and knock out Colby Covington,” Usman said.” That right now is the fight. The UFC just called and they offered us the fight. They said Colby Covington in January and you know what I’m gonna do. Of course I accepted. For the fifth time, I’ve accepted the fight. Right now we’re just waiting on him.”

“There comes a time where what we do in our careers where we get that one guy, that guy that just makes your blood boil, that really pulls the real savage out of you,” Usman said. “I have to touch him. I have to. I’ve got to bless this dude with my hands…

“I’m gonna go out there and do Tyron’s dirty work because I understand Tyron don’t want to have to fight both of us. He wants to sit back, keep getting them big checks that y’all get over there at TMZ, so it is what it is. Don’t worry T, I’m gonna go out there and do the dirty work and after that, we gonna have to talk.”

Now, when you consider that Usman has repeatedly expressed a desire to throw hands with Covington, his comments above shouldn’t come as a surprise. Even if Usman’s won 9 straight in the UFC and deserves to fight for the belt next. Plus, it seems clear that the UFC wants to go with a title shot eliminator between Usman and Covington, since Woodley must not be ready to go in January.

The big question here, however, is whether Covington accepts the fight. The controversial fighter has been pushing for a fight with Woodley for months, and after he won the interim last summer by beating RDA, it seemed like that fight would be next. Woodley has also repeatedly said lately that he wants to face Covington as well.

So, will Covington pass on this reported offer and raise tensions with UFC brass? We shall see.