UFC's Israel Adesanya, Sijara Eubanks Slam Colby Covington over Racist Comments

UFC fighters Israel Adesanya and Sijara Eubanks criticized colleague Colby Covington for using "racist" and "disgusting" language leading up to and following his victory over Tyron Woodley at UFC Fight Night 178 last Saturday. 

Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole noted that Covington leaned heavily on political themes to draw a distinction between himself and Woodley, creating what Iole called a "culture war." 

Among other things, Covington said Woodley was "a Communist" and "a Marxist," adding Woodley "hates America." He went on to call the Black Lives Matter movement "a complete sham," saying those involved in the movement are "complete terrorists" and "criminals."

Speaking with ESPN's Brett Okamoto, Eubanks dismissed the notion people should downplay Covington's comments:

"Let's be real, first and foremost. It wasn't 'unfortunate.' It was flat-out racist. It was racist. It was disgusting. It was quite frankly disappointing, but at the same time, the one thing I appreciate is the UFC lets whoever say whatever. They have never muzzled us as fighters. If you want to talk, if you don't want to talk, if you want to be political, if you don't want to be political, I have to appreciate the company lets us say what we want.

"But to be fair, I think guys that talk like Mike Perry [UFC fighter who has used the N-word publicly] and Colby Covington, I think a lot of the things they say are racist and disgusting and should be reported as such, instead of 'unfortunate' or 'controversial.' It's racist."

Adesanya focused on how he thought previous statements from him were portrayed far differently from Covington's words:

"It just shows you the landscape of the media, what it is right now. I made a joke about dropping [Yoel] Romero like the Twin Towers and everyone lost their mind, even if I said it was a joke and it was pretty funny, but people took it as I was being offensive and like, digging — but I was making a joke.

"This guy [Covington] has directly insulted my culture, my brother and many other cultures, and no one says anything, but it just shows you a mirror. Shows you a mirror to you guys. So, yeah. I don't really care. Kamaru Usman broke his jaw [when they fought in 2019], so I don't really care."

Covington provided a post-fight interview with ESPN wearing a "Keep America Great" hat, a reference to President Donald Trump's re-election campaign. He also received a call from the president on the air.

Following the call, he asked Nigerian-born UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman if he'd received a call from his "little tribe" via "smoke signals," per Okamoto.

Covington shared a photo with Trump on social media a day later:

Covington leaned on similar tactics ahead of his fight with Usman at UFC 245 last December. He also said UFC's Brazilian fans were "filthy animals" after his victory over Demian Maia at UFC Fight Night 119 in October 2017. The 32-year-old later posited the interview in the Octagon "saved my career" because of the attention he received.

Okamoto noted UFC hasn't punished Covington for his statements this past weekend, nor has the promotion offered public comment.