Morning Report: Ray Longo rips ‘leech on society’ Colby Covington after ‘karma’ performance at UFC 296

Colby Covington couldn’t back up his universally despised comments ahead of UFC 296.

The MMA world has been left with a relatively sour taste in its collective mouth going into 2024. Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena played host to UFC 296 this past Saturday to close out the promotion’s calendar year, as it usually does. This year, welterweight gold took center stage when the aforementioned Covington participated in his third attempt to become an undisputed UFC champion.

After enduring numerous insults in the build-up to the fight, the champion Leon Edwards remained unrattled at the pre-fight press conference until Covington volleyed a shot at his father, who was murdered in their home of England when Edwards was nine. Stating he’d take Edwards to the “seventh layer of hell” with his father on fight night, Covington pushed the boundary too far in the eyes of essentially the entire community along with Edwards and went on to lose a unanimous decision at UFC 296. Longtime head coach of the Serra-Longo fight team in Long Island Ray Longo hasn’t had time for “Chaos” since his unnecessary past threats toward UFC commentator Jon Anik.

“I’ve got absolutely no use for the guy at all. I just don’t,” Longo said on the Anik & Florian Podcast. “Ever since he threatened you (Anik), he knows where you live, he can go f*** himself. Couldn’t give a s*** about that guy. What he did with Leon Edwards I think is atrocious. You know, there’s promoting a fight, then there’s being a total f****** misfit in life, and that’s the way I see it with that guy.”

The loss for Covington drops him to 2-3 in his last five fights as he’s now alternated wins and losses with all losses coming in his undisputed title bids. Covington, 35, entered the octagon on Saturday after a nearly-year layoff that followed a one-sided unanimous decision win over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272 in March 2022.

Despite his time away, Covington was still a fan favorite as he received big cheers from the crowd during his walkout on fight night. Well, that changed by the end of the fight as his typical high-volume aggressive style was nowhere to be seen against Edwards. The talk didn’t cease afterward, however, as Covington stated he believed he should have won and proceeded to target his fellow veteran Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson as his next opponent.

“Colby, you’re sucking the f****** life out of the community,” Longo said. “Like a leech on society, and now you’re attacking this guy. It’s just too much for me. I don’t care for it. And, man, talk about karma, because what a piece of s*** that fight was. I mean, the guy did absolutely nothing and to be able to take a pro-Colby crowd, and by the end of the fight have the crowd against you, good luck, my man.

“I hope it was worth the money, the extra 25 percent or whatever. I hope it was worth it because I can promise you that he will regret a lot of s*** for the rest of your life. I think he cost [Donald] Trump the election. How’s that? ‘Oh, Mr. President, Mr. President is here to watch me. Who do you got? The Queen of England.’ This motherf***** called somebody a dope? I’d love to see this guy’s college transcripts. He’s a f****** moron.”

Stale. Matt Brown did with Colby Covington after UFC 296: ‘I think I speak for everyone, we don’t really care if we see him again or not’

Compassion. Alexandre Pantoja ‘very sad’ for beating Brandon Royval at UFC 296: ‘It’s really hard to do that with someone’

Clarity. Aljamain Sterling clears up ‘weird’ ticket mishap that kept him out of UFC 296

Nah. Tyron Woodley calls for Jake Paul rematch in MMA, finds it ‘disrespectful’ he’s not being considered as an opponent

Insight. Gilbert Burns’ wife reacts to Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis UFC 296 brawl

Onward. Alex Pereira not waiting for Israel Adesana trilogy: ‘I gave him the chance’

Sound & Pound.

2023 UFC Year in Review.

Rapid Rounds: Honchak vs. Hashi.

Volk in Vegas.

Heck of a Morning. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck discusses if Colby Covington will be able to bounce back after a forgettable UFC 296 performance.

Ageless.

Gotta make mom happy.

Classic.

Stamp in a box.

Support.

Zac Pauga (6-2) vs. Bogdan Guskov (14-3); UFC Vegas 86, Feb. 10

Bolaji Oki (8-1) vs. Damir Hadzovic (14-7); UFC Vegas 86, Feb. 10

Time to just give up the character for Covington. Nothing else will be more fascinating at this point. He’s done a real number on himself this time.

Thanks for reading!

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