Islam Makhachev gives no-holds-barred reaction to Colby Covington's "weight bully" comment: "A man who cannot prove anything"

Islam Makhachev slammed Colby Covington for the American's comments targeted at him and his close friend and teammate Khabib Nurmagomedov. Makhachev asserted that Covington was unable to prove anything inside the octagon, so he resorted to social media and interviews in the hopes of staying relevant.

Covington has repeatedly taken a dig at Makhachev and Nurmagomedov, citing them as ''weight bullies''. The former interim welterweight champion claimed that the Dagestani fighters are typically bigger than him outside of training camp.

In response, the reigning lightweight champion mocked Covington in his interview with Match TV last month, saying:

''First, let’s describe who Colby is. A man who can’t prove anything with his fights, but tries to be well known with his mouth. This is what he does. He doesn’t talk about fighters who are not in the Top 15. He talks about fighters who have already achieved a lot to be well-known. I think he’s one of the masters of trash talk.”

In response to the question of whether Covington's remarks concerned him, Makhachev said:

''For example, Kamaru Usman weighs more than 90kg, he is huge. I do not weigh 86kg. My maximum weight when I train is 82-83kg. Why should it [Covington's comments] bother me? It would be understandable if it was someone [who is a good fighter]tbut when a person can’t fight normally, but still talks about me, it doesn’t bother me.''

Check out Islam Makhachev's comments below:

Nurmagomedov is currently preparing Makhachev for his fourth title defense when he faces Arman Tsarukyan in the main event of UFC 311 on Jan. 18. The 33-year-old is coming off a fifth-round submission against former interim champion Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 last year.

Meanwhile, Covington returned to the octagon in a welterweight bout against Joaquin Buckley at UFC Tampa where he was completely dominated and lost via TKO in the third round.

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Dustin Poirier's teammate believes Islam Makhachev's biggest problem is his weight cut

Dustin Poirier and Arman Tsarukyan's teammate Grant Dawson recently expressed his thoughts on how the Armenian can defeat Makhachev.

Dawson suggested in an interview with Inside Fighting that Makhachev's massive weight reduction should be targeted, as well as his body.

''I think the biggest thing is not letting him move you backward, which is way easier said than done. The biggest flaw I think Islam Makhachev has is I think his weight cut is too big. He cuts too much weight. I don’t think he cuts weight the proper way and you know he’s still amazing. But I think that if you get in his face and you start attacking the body.”

Check out Grant Dawson's comments below (13:44):