When Kamaru Usman was announced as the next challenger for Tyron Woodley’s welterweight title, former interim champion Colby Covington was livid. He called his title shot snub “a big f*ck you to the fans” and even threatened legal action against Dana White and the UFC. But with Usman installed as the new champion and Covington seemingly set up for the title fight he has been chasing, there’s a new “Chaos” in town.

Speaking with Ariel Helwani on Monday, Covington said that he and Dana White have patched up their relationship and that things are better than ever.

“Things are good, man,” Covington said. “We’ve never been better ever since our exchange in Vegas. I finally got my face to face with him and he understands me and I understand him now. We see eye to eye now and here we are, we’re ready to do big business.”

Following his title snub, Covington went on a dedicated media tour, trashing Dana White in public as a “piece of sh*t” and saying he was standing up to the UFC for the way they treated their fighters. Covington got so aggressive with it that he even confronted White while the UFC president was sitting at a casino table. But that confrontation ended up getting Covington what he wanted and now, the former interim champion says he’s definitely fighting for the belt next, and then it’s on to GOAT status.

“I knew it would work out for the best,” Covington said. “[Dana] just needed to understand my side. We never got to sit down and really talk before. That’s the first time we’ve ever exchanged words for more than five minutes when we were in the White House waiting to see the President in the Oval Office. But now he understands me, he knows where I’m coming from, he knows what I’m trying to do and trying to accomplish in this sport. Before it’s all said and done, he’s gonna know that I am the welterweight GOAT.”

With Covington now back in the UFC’s good graces, “Chaos” is getting back to the basics that got him here: talking trash. Right now, the UFC’s 170-pound division is as exciting as it has ever been, with Jorge Masvidal, Anthony Pettis, and Ben Askren all suddenly announcing themselves as bona fide welterweight contenders to add into the already stacked mix of former champions and all-time greats. So, of course, Covington took aim at everyone he could and declared his mission accomplished.

“We got Woodley and Lawler fighting for the senior citizens championships,” Covington said. “Those guys should be retired by now, they’re embarrassing. We got Ben Askren, he’s already gonna go get embarrassed in front of the whole world when he goes against [Jordan] Burroughs at Beat The Streets. We got my good buddy Jorge [Masvidal] climbing his way up, which we’ve had countless sparring sessions and training accounts together. Then we got me and Marty Fake Snoozeman at the top of the mountain right now ready to settle it. It’s an interesting time in the welterweight division, but I called this all, Ariel. Didn’t I say I was gonna make the welterweight division great again? And that’s exactly what I did.”

All that’s left for Covington to do is to win the undisputed title. But at this point, “Chaos” says it’s just a matter of time given how he has dominated the mental battle against Kamaru Usman.

“I’ve been living rent free in that guy’s head for the last couple of years,” Covington concluded. “He’s been begging to fight me and making up this fake news narrative that I’ve been ducking him when I never ducked him. He was trying to fight me when I already had fights set with guys ahead of me. I wasn’t going to go backwards. Now I’m right here with him and there’s no one else at the top of the mountain to fight and he’s begging for anyway out. He’s looking for any other fighter to fight him but me, the only guy, the most deserving, the guy who earned his shot and has a belt. So I know I’m under his skin, I know I’m living rent-free in his head, and it’s just a matter of time until I turn his lights out.”

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VIDEO STEW

The MMA Hour.

Free fight.

ONE Championship promo.

Darren Till arrested.

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LISTEN UP

The Co-Main Event. Recapping UFC St. Petersburg and looking ahead to this weekend.

Bushido Talk. Discussing the future of MMA.

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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Khabib during Islam Makhachev’s fight.

Alan Jouban joining the Good Fight.

Ben being Ben.

Antsy.

Jorge has a shirt.

Bruno Mars.

Teaching the kids.

Boss Logic has moved up in the world.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Priscila Cachoeira (8-2) vs. Luana Carolina (5-1); UFC 237, May 11.

Gary Tonon (4-0) vs. Yoshiki Nakahara (13-4); ONE Championship, May 17.

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TODAY IN MMA HISTORY

2005: Mauricio Rua stopped Quinton Jackson with soccer kicks in the opening round of the Pride 2005 middleweight grand prix, at Pride Total Elimination 2005.

2016: Jon Jones returned to the UFC, claiming an interim light heavyweight title with a win over Ovince Saint Preux at UFC 197.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Thanks for reading and see y’all tomorrow.

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EXIT POLL

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