Colby Covington blasts Ali Abdelaziz for rushing Belal Muhammad and Gilbert Burns, says Burns was 'done dirty'

Colby Covington believes Ali Abdelaziz set up Gilbert Burns for failure at UFC 288.

On May 6, Burns and Belal Muhammad fought in a five-round bout on short notice to save the UFC 288 co-main event after Charles Oliveira vs. Beneil Dariush was postponed. Muhammad emerged victorious by unanimous decision, with ‘Durinho’ suffering a severe arm injury early in the fight.

During an interview with Mike Heck of MMAFighting, Covington accused Abdelaziz, the manager of Burns and Muhammad, of foul play for agreeing to the matchup:

“Do you realize the guy that really won that night in between that fight was the manager [Ali Abdelaziz] because he got paychecks on both sides? He sent his fighters out to this short-notice fight with nothing in return. It’s not like they were getting a title shot. Yeah, they are saying it’s for a title shot but after me…”

Covington continued by saying:

“He [Abdelaziz] has all these fighters he’s putting them everywhere, and he’s just making promises, ‘Oh yeah, there’s gonna be a title shot on the line for this fight.’ No. Why did Gilbert [Burns] have to fight three fights in five months? Why did he rush him out there like that? The guy just got 100 pounds in literally three training camps… I feel for Gilbert. He’s a family man, and he got done dirty.”[10:08-12:32]

Dana White has confirmed that Covington will get the next welterweight title shot against Leon Edwards. Once that matchup plays out, Muhammad has been promised the following title shot for his win against Burns.

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Colby Covington says Gilbert Burns was sold a ‘pipe dream’ by Ali Abdelaziz

It’s only May, and Gilbert Burns has fought three times this year. After securing wins in January and April, ‘Durinho’ had his momentum stopped with the loss against Belal Muhammad. During the same interview with MMAFighting, Colby Covington voiced his sympathy for Burns after Ali Abdelaziz allegedly sold him a pipe dream:

“He could’ve stayed in his position and potentially been the backup for me and Leon. Now all the marbles have fell and he’s out of the equation. It’s sad to see, man. He got sold a pipe dream by Ali Abdelaziz.” [12:35-12:45]

Colby Covington last fought in March 2022, defeating Jorge Masvidal by unanimous decision. A year later, he weighed in as the backup for the welterweight championship fight between Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards. Dana White was impressed by Covington’s commitment to being a backup and guaranteed him the next title shot against Edwards, which is expected to be scheduled for later this year.