Colby Covington: I'll Throw Kamaru Usman to Sharks After Fight Island Rematch

Colby Covington wants a rematch with Kamaru Usman, and he's predicting it will happen in July.

"Colby Covington fights Marty 'Fake Newsman' on Dana White's Fight Island," he told ESPN's Brett Okamoto on Tuesday. "In July, what would usually be International Fight Week [in Las Vegas], on Fight Island. Let's do it, baby. I'll throw his dead body to the sharks when I'm done with with it."

Fight Island refers to the setting UFC President Dana White procured to host events for international fighters who cannot currently enter the United States due to travel restrictions put in place as a measure to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. 

White appeared on the Jim Rome Show last week and offered an update on the island (h/t Ryan Gaydos of Fox News): 

"The infrastructure is being built right now. I'm hoping that it will all be done mid-June. Hopefully, we'll be able to have a fight that weekend that it opens, or maybe closer toward the end of June. What we're building that for is that I can't predict what tomorrow might bring with this coronavirus, so the hardest thing is going to be getting people in from the United States. This is where we're going to do all our international fights."

White also said Tuesday that he expects the lightweight unification bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje to take place at some point this summer on Fight Island.

As for Covington (15-2), he's hoping to be one of the fighters on that island. He lost to Usman (16-1) at UFC 245 in December by a fifth-round TKO with the welterweight title on the line, though he has maintained that referee Marc Goddard was biased against him and cost him the fight:

"I would say [Goddard's officiating cost me] between $10 million to $20 million, easy. I want a fair shake at a world title fight. I didn't get a fair shake. I have such a bad taste in my mouth from that last fight. That's my entire dream since I was 5, I set out to be the best in the world. All I want is a fair shake, is that too much to ask? I have to be able to overcome corruption, overcome the bad calls, and that's what I'm doing every day. Working to ensure that."

The pieces are falling into place for a rematch. Potential Covington opponent Tyron Woodley is instead likely to fight Gilbert Burns next, per Okamoto, while a much-anticipated Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal bout doesn't appear imminent, with White saying the organization was looking at other potential opponents for Masvidal.

So Covington could get his rematch.

"I want my fight with Usman or 'Street Judas' Masvidal," he told Okamoto. "There are no other fights to make. I'll just keep waiting, keep training. Every day that goes by, it's only getting worse for my competition, I promise you that."