LeBron James, Jon Jones targets of cringey Colby Covington UFC presser

If there was any doubt about who the actual “King of Cringe” is in MMA, Colby Covington reminded followers Wednesday that he nonetheless holds that title.

Covington, who headlines UFC on ESPN 63 in opposition to Joaquin Buckley on Saturday, attended a media day for the primary time since shedding his third undisputed title battle virtually one yr in the past, and proper off the bat, he attacked NBA star LeBron James.

Why? As a result of again in September, a video from 4 years in the past of James and disgraced hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs resurfaced during which James says “ain’t no celebration like a Diddy celebration.’ The clip from an Instagram Dwell stream resurfaced shortly after Combs was indicted and arrested on federal intercourse trafficking and racketeering expenses. Combs is at the moment in jail awaiting a trial after a plethora of ladies alleged he sexually abused them, together with at his now-infamous “white events.”

Armed with that data, No. 1 Donald Trump supporter Covington, who’s gone after James up to now for his left-leaning political beliefs and stance in opposition to police brutality, opened his UFC on ESPN 63 media day by going after him as soon as once more.

“I’m gonna begin this off since I’m the person of the hour, the person of the present,” Covington instructed MMA Junkie and different reporters with no query being requested. “I wish to ask LeBron: What does he imply by ‘there’s no celebration like a Diddy celebration’? I actually wish to know. And never solely that, LeBron, what number of Diddy events have you ever really been to? I’m actually curious to know. Is that the rationale you left social media? As a result of all of the backlash you had been getting for going to so many Diddy events? It’s simply pathetic, man.

“Individuals suppose this man is a task mannequin. He desires to defund the police, probably the most patriotic folks in America serving and defending our nation. Lebron, you’re a f*cking scumbag, and I hope you get locked up in the identical cell with Diddy.”

This was solely the start.

For the subsequent 20-plus minutes, Covington rambled about Shavkat Rakhmonov, Khamzat Chimaev, Ian Machado Garry, and made much more salacious remarks about Machado Garry’s spouse. To Covington’s credit score, he did converse largely respectfully of his opponent, Buckley, when discussing Saturday’s headliner.

Maybe the cringe-worthiest of Covington’s diatribes got here on the finish, when he was requested what he considered Jon Jones’ efficiency in his UFC 309 victory over Stipe Miocic to retain his heavyweight title. Slightly than reply the query, Covington used it as a chance to go down an sudden highway relating to his former school roommate.

“Jon has some fruity tendencies. I believe the media must look into a few of the fruity issues that he does. It’s very unusual,” Covington stated. “However I can inform you that I do know he has been with some girls, as a result of I keep in mind in school he all the time used to get the fattest ladies within the college. I’m speaking 300 pounds-plus. Dude, he is aware of deep down inside, this isn’t a joke. He is aware of deep down inside, like, I do know his darkish, hidden secrets and techniques which might be in his closet. He’s been with a few of the fattest, 300-pound slobs. It’s disgusting. Dude, Jon Jones is an absolute f*cking shame to this earth. He’s a f*cking joke.”

Then Covington received to addressing the query earlier than ending off with yet one more tangent as he took a shot at Jones for his 2021 arrest for allegedly assaulting his fiancee in a Las Vegas lodge room.

“Yeah, he beat Stipe,” he continued. “Respect to Stipe first off as a result of he’s a primary responder and he places his life on the road for the folks and for his neighborhood. So shout out to Stipe, the best heavyweight of all time, however he was previous his time. He shouldn’t have even been there, man. He is aware of he was previous. He was simply displaying up for a paycheck. That’s not the Stipe of previous that was in his prime anymore. I don’t suppose something particular of that efficiency.

“I believe Jon must cease ducking Tom Aspinall, similar to he ducked Ngannou. He ducked Ngannou a number of years in the past, now he’s ducking Aspinall. He doesn’t wish to battle the blokes he is aware of he’s gonna get his ass whooped in opposition to, so I don’t suppose something particular of Jon Jones.

“He’s a f*cking coward, he’s a cheat, and he’s a lady beater. He must cease beating his spouse and leaving her bloody in Las Vegas lodge rooms.”