Colby Covington Slams Justin Gaethje's Performance in Ilia Topuria Title Fight

Colby Covington has taken aim at Justin Gaethje's performance in the UFC Freedom 250 title fight against Ilia Topuria. On June 14, Gaethje dismantled and bloodied Topuria for four rounds, forcing the then-undefeated lightweight champion's corner to stop the fight before the 29-year-old could take further punishment.

What happened?

Colby Covington has expressed his disappointment with Justin Gaethje's performance in the UFC Freedom 250 title fight against Ilia Topuria. Gaethje's sharp combinations and jabs left Topuria with a broken nose and two fractured orbital bones. However, Covington is still not impressed with how Gaethje dethroned Topuria.

Why it matters for Colby Covington

Covington believes that Ilia Topuria's mind was not in the right place during the Gaethje fight, and his personal issues, which forced Topuria to take a hiatus from fighting, lingered in his mind on June 14 and affected his performance in the octagon. Covington has shown support for Topuria and trashed Gaethje, saying: "But look at what Ilia had to go through, man. His mind was not in the fight. You could tell his mind was not in the fight. His mind was on his family; it's on his divorce, it's on his alimony and child support payments that he has to pay."

What comes next?

After the brutal title loss to Justin Gaethje, Ilia Topuria plans to enter the octagon again before the year ends, as per the Georgian-Spaniard's team. Gaethje, on the other hand, is not game to give Topuria a title rematch right away, as the American believes he made the 29-year-old 'quit twice on the stool' on June 14. "The Highlight" plans to enter the octagon potentially next year to defend his strap and is rumored to fight top contender Arman Tsarukyan.

Covington has also alleged that Gaethje had "rocks in his gloves" during the fight, something fans had joked about in the aftermath of the fight. During a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Covington said: "He still sucks, let's be honest. Little duck lip Gaethje, he's still terrible. He's not a good fighter. I mean, there's a lot of controversies behind it. I saw that he had rocks in his gloves; there was something weird going on. I don't know. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I saw the pictures. I saw the pictures in his wraps, and his wraps look so much different than any wrap I've ever seen in UFC history. So I don't know. I don't think it's that impressive."

Covington believes that Gaethje's performance was not impressive and that Topuria's personal issues affected his performance in the octagon. He has shown support for Topuria and trashed Gaethje, saying that he is not a good fighter.

The UFC Freedom 250 title fight between Justin Gaethje and Ilia Topuria took place on June 14, with Gaethje emerging victorious after four rounds.