According to Ali Abdelaziz, the UFC wants to match up Belal Muhammad and Colby Covington.
Abdelaziz told The Schmo the UFC contacted him to have Muhammad (22-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) coach Season 31 of “The Ultimate Fighter” opposite Covington (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC), but the UFC never heard back from Covington.
It appears the UFC now has gone a different direction after Conor McGregor claimed he will be a coach on the upcoming season of “TUF.”
“The UFC reached out to me and said, ‘Belal vs. Colby, coaching “The Ultimate Fighter,””” Abdelaziz said. “We said yes. Nobody can find Colby. Nobody knows where he’s at. Last time I heard, he was at the UFC (Performance Institute) with four security (guards). Now (Jorge) Masvidal is fighting. I don’t know if he’s trying to sue Masvidal, trying to cash in, or trying to do what.
“Fight or just leave the sport or get out of the rankings. Belal should be fighting for the title, to be honest. I don’t care what anybody says. Belal now, the UFC are very much saying that they’re working on the Colby Covington fight. This is the right fight and there’s no doubt in my mind that Belal beats him.”
Muhammad has been calling out Covington for years. The 34-year-old is unbeaten in his past nine fights and most recently handed Sean Brady his first loss with a second-round TKO at UFC 280.
Covington is coming off a dominant unanimous decision win over Masvidal at UFC 272 in March 2022. Weeks after their fight, Masvidal was arrested for an alleged assault of Covington outside of a restaurant in Miami Beach, Fla. Covington claimed he was punched twice by Masvidal, who allegedly chipped his front tooth and knocked it out.
Masvidal was charged with single counts of felony aggravated battery resulting in great bodily harm and criminal mischief and entered written pleas of not guilty. He has a pre-trial hearing set for Feb. 15, with an anticipated trial date of Feb. 27.
If found guilty, Masvidal could face up to 15 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine for second-degree felony aggravated battery with additional penalties possible for the criminal mischief charge.
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