Colby Covington suggests Jon Jones’ management could be bribing USADA to expedite UFC return

UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington has never been shy when it comes to comments on his former roommate Jon Jones. His latest comments on Jones, however, might just take the cake.

Speaking on Chael Sonnen’s Beyond the Fight podcast, Covington accused the former UFC light heavyweight champion and his management of bribing the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in order to expedite his return to the Octagon.

“His scumbag management team, Malki Kawa and those guys, they’re probably trying to pay off the UFC or USADA somehow to get him back earlier,” Covington said (transcribed by Jesse Holland for MMAMania).

“You never know the UFC’s side, they want to do business and make money so if he’s available, and USADA clears him, then they’re gonna want to do business and put him back out there to fight and make that company money,” he said. “They’ve got a $4 billion installment on that loan to pay back, so they’re gonna do whatever it takes to make money and pay back that loan.”

While these are some serious accusations from Covington, it’s worth noting that, for the moment, they seem to be pure speculation.

Furthermore, it seems that Jones’ team and USADA are very close to reaching a deal, which should give us a clear sense of when Jones will be eligible to return to the cage.

“I’m very confident we will have a decision on this thing by the end of this month,” Jones’ manager Kawa said on a recent episode of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show. “They’re pushing hard. I know everyone involved is working hard to come to a resolution. I know that the UFC is anxiously waiting and we’re dealing with USADA on a daily basis. They’ve been really good with us as far as really investigating this thing and looking at it from a lot of different angles and stuff.”

“I’m hoping he gets cleared in the next month or so and that the opportunity to fight presents itself. If it’s next year, early next year or whatever it is, I’m confident.”

What do you think of Colby Covington’s latest fiery comments on Jon Jones?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 7/18/2018.