- Covington and Ferguson will fight British opponents at UFC 296
- Covington will challenge for a title while Ferguson looks for his first win since 2020
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UFC welterweight title challenger Colby Covington and lightweight Tony Ferguson confused fans at the UFC 296 press conference when a heated argument quickly turned into an unlikely bond over their American roots.
Covington and Ferguson were on hand to promote Saturday's pay-per-view, which will see both take on British opposition. Ferguson will face Merseyside native Paddy Pimblett, while Covington challenges champion Leon Edwards for the welterweight title.
The profanity-filled altercation began when Ferguson interrupted the visibly patriotic Covington about being “more American.” The minutes-long back and forth included Covington speaking out about Ferguson's six-fight losing streak and disparaging their respective weight classes. Ferguson also told Covington, “Get the Trump bullshit out of your mouth,” before expressing their mutual support for each other.
“Okay Colby, let's do this,” Ferguson said. “F*** yes, America motherfuckers.”
“Let's go for Team America,” Covington replied.
Colby Covington and Tony Ferguson quickly went from enemies to friends at the UFC 296 presser
Ferguson started the exchange by telling Covington that he is “more American” than he is
Fans commented on social media about the interaction between two of the UFC's biggest characters.
“That was the strangest back and forth I've ever experienced,” one fan wrote.
“Literally maybe the most American thing ever,” another added.
Ferguson, a former lightweight challenger and interim titleholder, looks to break his six-fight skid against Pimblett on Saturday. Ferguson reeled off 12 straight wins and had his title fights with former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov infamously canceled five times before his losing streak began in 2020.
Ferguson has an MMA record of 26-9, while Pimblett, who has built the UFC as one of Britain's next stars, is 20-3 in his career.
Covington (R) will face Leon Edwards for the UFC welterweight title in the headliner of UFC 296
Ferguson (L) looks to break a six-fight losing streak against rising lightweight Paddy Pimblett
On the other hand, Covington gets his third shot at the welterweight title despite being inactive for almost two years. Covington, 17-3, failed in both challenges against former champion Kamaru Usman before winning his last fight against Jorge Masvidal in March 2022.
Covington will look to capture gold again, this time against Edwards, who has not lost in his last twelve fights. Edwards won and defended the title 21-3 against Usman in his last two outings.
Ferguson and Pimblett open the main card of UFC 296 ahead of Covington and Edwards' meeting on Saturday. The pay-per-view kicks off at 10:00 PM ET, live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.