Top-ranked welterweight contender, Belal Muhammad delivered a scathing rebuke to Colby Covington, who recently faced severe criticism from the MMA community for his insensitive comments regarding Leon Edwards' late father.
In contrast to Muhammad, who engages in a competitive verbal exchange with Edwards focused on achieving championship goals, Covington's comments seemingly crossed ethical boundaries.
Last week, 'Chaos' ignited outrage among fans and the media by bringing up the tragic loss of Leon Edwards' father during a press conference. Covington's remarks not only breached the standards of decency but also elicited condemnation from fellow fighters and MMA analysts.
Undeterred by the backlash, Colby Covington remained unapologetic and shockingly drew a parallel between Edwards' deceased father and Hitler on a recent appearance on Patrick Bet-David's podcast. Unfazed by criticism, Covington clarified:
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"I'm not comparing him to Hitler, but it's that same level of a bad guy."
In response to Covington's reprehensible comments, Belal Muhammad took to X (Twitter) to condemn the comments and unequivocally set a boundary against any disrespect towards an opponent's family. He wrote:
"Even though I plan to break Leon and take his belt," Muhammad asserted, "his family should never be disrespected like Colby did on @patrickbetdavid show. Colby’s a pathetic human being and deserves to have his jaw broken in every steakhouse he ever goes to."
Catch Belal Muhammad's tweet below:
Chael Sonnen weighs in on fine line of speech in UFC amid Colby Covington backlash
Chael Sonnen, known for pioneering trash talk in the UFC, recently shared his views on Colby Covington's recent controversial comments about Leon Edwards' late father.
While Sonnen acknowledged Covington's remarks as crossing a personal line, he emphasized that the audience, rather than promoters or regulators, should dictate the boundaries of acceptable speech.
In a recent interview on The MMA Hour, Sonnen expressed his disagreement with Colby Covington's comments but argued against the idea of policing speech. He maintained that relying on the crowd's reaction is a more straightforward approach, allowing the audience to determine what is acceptable. Sonnen stated:
“What he said was very mean. It was designed to be mean. But then the payment is the audience. So when you say you think that Colby will respect it, I hear you on that, but I think that other fighters have observed this and seen this, and that’s where you start to see where that line is. The line moves all the time.”
Sonnen added:
“There should not be a rule. I guess that’s what I’m saying. I hate that idea. Do not let us fall into that, man. This world is a weak place. Words just simply can’t hurt you. They just can’t.”
Catch Chael Sonnen's comments below: