Ben Askren trashes ‘douchebag’ Colby Covington

As Colby Covington has risen through the welterweight ranks, he has divided opinion in the MMA community. Fellow 170-pound fighter, Ben Askren has made it clear what side of the fence he’s on. ‘Funky’ called out Covington for being ‘a terrible person’ who ‘nobody likes’.

The UFC fighters both come for a collegiate wrestling background. The Olympic wrestler suggests that Covington’s bad reputation dates back to his early wrestling days. He revealed during an interview with Submission Radio,

“Colby’s a terrible person,

“I’ve been telling the outside world this for many years. I am in the wrestling community. The wrestling community is tight-knit.

“We know who sucks and who doesn’t suck. Here’s the deal. Everywhere Colby’s been, nobody likes him. They don’t like him, no good reviews,” said Ben Askren.

Even the welterweight’s former teammates are starting to turn on him. Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Dustin Poirier and Jorge Masvidal have clashed with Covington and his controversial behaviour.

“Everyone has been trying to keep quiet, but think about the people that have come out against him,

“Can you guys name me one person from ATT who stuck up and said, ‘You know what? I actually think Colby is a really good guy, he’s just misunderstood. Hey, Colby adds a lot to this team.’ Can you guys name me one person who’s said that?”

There is a general consensus in MMA that Colby Covington is putting on a performance to promote himself. However, Ben Askren doesn’t see a difference between the media persona and his real-life experience with the polarizing welterweight.

“Genuinely, nobody likes him. In real life, he’s really a douchebag. For real. Real talk,” he said via MMA Junkie.

On the flipside, Covington seems unfazed by the animosity and called out his ATT opponents for being jealous.

”It wasn’t more about training anywhere else, it was more about just staying away from the distractions, the drama that’s going on at the gym,” he said.

“Obviously, everybody in the gym’s jealous of me. I’ve got a lot of haters in the world, and that’s just how the world is today.”

Do you think Ben Askren is right about Colby Covington? Let us know in the comments below.