There is no doubt that Colby Covington is one of the most hated MMA fighters in the industry. His trash talks never fail to annoy the crowd. Nonetheless, English commentator Michael Bisping believes everything is just an act by Covington, recalling the times when the fighter showed how “nice” and “humble” he is in real life.
This is unsurprising since many fighters opt for a nasty persona when facing the camera. Needless to say, Covington has been doing it so well, making his antagonistic personality a big name in the industry. While this undeniably helped him build his name in some ways, it also resulted in hate radiating from the crowd.
Nonetheless, Bisping refuses to join the same side. On the recent episode of the Believe You Me podcast, the sports analyst shared the instances he had interactions with the fighter and recalled the times when Covington showed his true self without cameras around.
“I didn’t believe that he was putting on a WWE-esque character until I had some run-ins with him, when there was no cameras around, and I was blown away by how humble, how polite and what just generally a nice human being he was,” Bisping said. “Now, you put a camera on him, he throws on the MAGA hat and he’s a big Trump supporter; that’s not an act, but he’s coming at everyone, he’s taking no prisoners, he’s pulling no punches. You know what I’m saying, but you bump into the guy walking down the street, and he’s so nice. ‘Yes sir, no sir!’, helping people out, holding doors, taking time with fans and all the rest of it, but you put a camera on him, and he’s p*ssing a lot of people off.”
While this sounds touching, it can’t be denied that annoyance over Covington won’t be going away any time soon. And by that, we’re not only referring to audiences at home, as Covington is also known to have a beef with other personalities in the industry. That includes Jorge Masvidal, who, despite being a former roommate and friend, is now known as one of Covington’s biggest enemies. Months ago, Masvidal was arrested for attacking Covington.
“There’s nobody in the sport that I formally dislike but him,” said Masvidal after pleading guilty recently to a misdemeanor battery charge. “He’s not my cup of tea, bro. And allegedly this and allegedly that, I can’t talk too much about it, but I’ll tell you this much — when we get in the cage again, I’m going to kill his ass legally, bro. I’ve been training for him since the moment that fight was done. I’ve been just preparing for him.”
