"Filthy animal" - Colby Covington claims his announced title fight with Belal Muhammad at RAF 12 is off

Colby Covington is coming off a 5-3 decision win over Arman Tsarukyan in the headlining match of RAF 11 in Milwaukee this past Saturday. It bagged him the inaugural RAF cruiserweight crossover title. 

Meanwhile, Belal Muhammad wrestled against retired MMA star Ben Askren in the RAF 11 co-headlining match, beating Askren by decision with a margin of 6-3. 

Covington, an ex-interim UFC welterweight champion who retired from MMA earlier this year, engaged in a war of words against former UFC welterweight titlist Muhammad at the RAF 11 pre-event press conference.

He made some rather personal remarks about Muhammad's physical appearance and his wife.

Also, at the RAF 11 post-event press conference, Covington took a few more personal jibes at Muhammad, yet again labeling him "ugly" and his partner/wife a "gargoyle." 

Muhammad hit back at him and proceeded to approach him and land a front kick to the torso of "Chaos." They were swiftly separated by RAF personnel and others onstage, controlling the brawl. 

The RAF brass onstage had also announced that Covington would defend his cruiserweight crossover title against Muhammad in the co-headlining match at RAF 12 on August 22. 

Colby Covington claims his RAF cruiserweight crossover championship match against Belal Muhammad at RAF 12 won't happen

During a conversation with Denis Shkuratov on Submission Radio after RAF 11, Colby Covington opened up on various topics. 

Covington asserted that he's the champion and calls the shots, further suggesting that he's a stakeholder in the RAF, met the promotional brass, and made an executive decision in regard to his next match. 

He claimed that Muhammad's physically attacking him at the RAF 11 post-event press conference was unprofessional and has made him steer clear of facing him. 

Covington said, "We're going to move away from the Belal matchup. He showed that he can't be a professional, Denis... No, it's not happening." 

The 38-year-old affirmed that he'll list the reasons why he's uninterested in wrestling against Muhammad. He said, "First off, you know, he's on the mic at the post-fight press conference. He's claiming to be a man of the people, you know, 'I care about the kids. I want to be a good example. I'm sorry I cussed.'"

He continued, "And then the next second, he stands up and throws a s*cker kick at me, and runs across the stage and tries to attack me like a freaking filthy animal. It's just like a delinquent, like a criminal. It's just disgusting. There's no professionalism on his side." 

Moreover, Covington implied that the RAF brass knows he'd beat Muhammad in a wrestling match, but he feels that the Chicago-born fighter would yet again attempt to engage in a street-fight-esque confrontation with him. 

"Chaos" emphasized that Muhammad isn't a notable box office draw, so facing him wouldn't exactly be the most lucrative option.

Covington opined that he'd perhaps think about giving "Remember the Name" an opportunity to wrestle against him if he picks up a few wins. 

Colby Covington names potential opponents, is willing to compete at RAF 12

The California-born combatant expressed interest in an RAF rematch against UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan, whom he lauded for having dominated all opponents but him in the RAF. 

A few other fighters he named as possible opponents for himself in the RAF include his ex-UFC opponent Tyron Woodley, as well as UFC stars such as Michael Chandler, Khamzat Chimaev, and archrival Kamaru Usman, among others. 

The veteran fighter clarified that he's willing to compete at RAF 12, which goes down in Cleveland on August 22. As of this time, it's unclear as to whether the RAF would move forward with the Covington-Muhammad matchup for RAF 12 or book Covington against another opponent. 

In the latter part of his conversation with Shkuratov, Covington addressed a few dream matchups that many have been clamoring for but seem unlikely to materialize soon. 

It included possible wrestling matches against MMA great Georges St-Pierre, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and reigning UFC welterweight titlist Islam Makhachev. 

Watch Colby Covington discuss the Belal Muhammad match and more below (*comments at the 10:30-minute mark of the video):