Colby Covington Honors 9/11 Heroes After RAF 13 Win Before Turning to ‘C**shot’ Chimaev
Colby Covington just walked the talk at RAF 13 in his backyard, Miami.
The former UFC welterweight title challenger dominated his longtime rival Belal Muhammad, winning 10-0 by technical fall after spending the buildup taking shots at Muhammad, his family, and his beliefs.
After securing the landslide victory, Covington briefly put the “Chaos” persona aside. The 38-year-old opened his post-fight comments by paying tribute to the first responders who lost their lives on 9/11, honoring the men and women who never made it home 25 years ago.
‘We Will Never Forget You Guys’ – Colby Covington Dedicates His RAF 13 Win to National Heroes
While the match got off to a brief but chaotic start when an eye poke forced an early pause, once the action resumed, Covington wasted little time imposing himself, grabbing Muhammad and driving him to the mat for a four-point takedown.
Another two points followed before the self-proclaimed “King of Miami” went hunting for a leg lace, but Muhammad managed to survive the sequence and force a restart in the center.
The second period was more of the same. Muhammad was placed on the shot clock for inactivity, and Covington capitalized by adding to his lead with a slick exchange that pushed the score to 9-0. With the former UFC welterweight unable to answer before the clock expired, the resulting passivity point gave Covington the 10-0 win by technical superiority.
Surprisingly, the two rivals exchanged a few words afterward, seemingly putting their long-running feud aside, at least for the moment. The bout was done and dusted, but Covington was only getting started on the microphone.
Touching Moment Honoring Those Lost in 9/11
Shortly after the match, Chael Sonnen approached Covington, who took the microphone and opened his post-fight speech with a heartfelt tribute to the first responders who lost their lives on 9/11. Rather than diving straight into his usual trash talk, the 38-year-old took a moment to remember the men and women who never made it home 25 years ago.
“I want to dedicate this win to all the first responders, men and women that we lost 25 years ago on 9/11. We will never forget you guys.” If anything, it was a noticeably different side of the former UFC fighter, even if the moment did not last long.
Having paid his respects, “Chaos” quickly returned to familiar territory - “Now on to business, who do you guys wanna see me go against next?” Covington asked before running through a list of names, including Gilbert Burns, “Marty ‘Fake Newsman’ Usman,” Tyron Woodley, and “Cumshot Chimaev.”
Then again, after the above mentions, Covington had one more destination in mind, a more realistic one, stating, “I’d tell you who is next in line for this belt. That’s going to be the mamacitas at E11EVEN tonight.”
Covington Saw No Rival in Muhammad
For all the noise surrounding Covington and Muhammad over the years, now, after the lopsided win, the former insists there was never much of a rivalry from his side. According to him, “Remember The Name” simply never occupied enough space in his world to warrant one.
Adding his finishing touch during the post-fight presser, the RAF Cruiserweight Crossover champion said, “You know, they was never really beef on my end. Maybe on his end, you know, he’s very jealous and envious of my success and everything I’ve done in my career.”
Covington then pointed to the difference in the stages they occupied during their UFC careers. While Muhammad was fighting at the UFC Apex, Covington highlighted his own appearances at Madison Square Garden and the gates those events generated, using the contrast to explain why he never considered Muhammad a comparable star.
“If he was important enough, the UFC would’ve made the fight,” Covington said. “They never even offered the fight, he wasn’t a star. He fought at the Apex when they gave out free tickets, I fought at Madison Square Garden doing $10 million gates, so… You see the difference.”
Nevertheless, after finally sharing the mat at RAF 13, Covington made it clear that, at least in his eyes, the ‘Beef” was never as personal as Muhammad may have made it seem.
