Ray Longo has been a longtime fixture in the UFC, having coached fighters to both contender and championship levels. That has led to him being a respected figure when it comes to fighters and fans alike. And Longo’s words usually carry some weight, but this week? They’re heavier than a dump truck.
While he doesn’t shy away from media, it’s rare to hear Longo invested in a raw and emotional manner. However, one man has managed to bring out a whole bevy of emotions from him: Colby Covington.
Colby went too far at the UFC 296 presser
It turns out that Covington’s antics at last week’s press conference for UFC 296 rankled more feathers than usual. Covington’s invective wasn’t just aimed at his opponent Leon Edwards, although there was some friction coming out of that. But he also decided to take a wildly inappropriate shot at Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in the process.
Covington: Guys i got a question: You’re saying that Stephen’s so nice. I gotta ask the same question again. Him and his dad drive around in a van with no windows, and they lure kids into the bus with candy and karate. and they tell them “Let’s go back to the Dojo…” Listen…
Thompson: Colby… don’t…
Covington: Listen, that’s strange. That’s strange.
Thompson: You haven’t got a ride in the Karate bus, alright? I got you.
Covington: I gotta be honest — Stephen shouldn’t be on the top ten list. He shouldn’t be in the pound for pound list. But he should be on that list that all the community knows about. I’m not saying he’s a pedophile, but man, he checks all the boxes.
Thompson: Don’t mess with my kids man, I’ll send them after you, brother. I think they can take you.
Covington: That’s what they all say, pedo.
It’s worth remembering that Wonderboy wasn’t shy about his opinions regarding Covington a while back. However, this escalated things exponentially.
Longo wasn’t having it…
After that disgusting display as well as the comments about Edwards’ father being murdered, Longo unloaded on Covington as a guest on the Anik and Florian podcast. And this was made even more interesting considering the previous comments Covington had made towards Anik earlier this year. Here’s a snipped courtesy of Out of Context MMA on Twitter.
Longo: I got, listen… I got absolutely no use for the guy at all. I just don’t. Ever since he threatened you, you know, “He knows where you live“? He can go f—k himself, couldn’t give a s—t about that guy. What he did with Leon Edwards, I think is atrocious. You know, there’s promoting a fight and then there’s being a total f—king misfit in life and uh, that’s the way I see it with that guy.
I mean, first off, Leon Edwards with his father? That was heartbreaking, listening to Leon talk to — Leon’s a sweetheart of a guy. I really like Leon Edwards a lot, man. To see that? You know, I start… I’m tearing up as he’s doing that.
Longo: And It’s anger. It’s anger towards Colby. That’s what it does to me, but you know, I dunno. Look, the guy attacks Wonderboy. I mean, you see Wonderboy handle that like he can’t even attack him.
That’s how nice the guy is. He’s up there and he’s smiling, but you know, he’s calling the guy a pedophile? This guy’s a piece of s—t, alright? Calls Wonderboy a pedophile. Wonderboy is doing something, at least he’s giving back to the community. Colby, you’re sucking the f—king life out of the community.
You’re like a leech on society, you know what I mean? And now you’re attacking this guy? It’s just, I dunno, it’s too much for me. I don’t care for it. And man, talk about karma? What a piece of s—t that fight was. I mean the guy did absolutely nothing and uh… to be able to take a pro-Colby crowd and by the end of the fight, have the crowd against you?
Good luck, my man. I hope it was worth the money, the extra 25% or whatever. I hope it was worth it for you because I guarantee, I been around a long time, I can promise you that you will regret a lot of s—t for the rest of your life, you know?
I think he cost Trump the election, how’s that? (Goes into simpering Colby impression) “Buh, Mr. President! Mr. President is here to watch me, who do you got? The queen of England?” I mean, this motherf—ker called somebody a dope? I’d love to see this guy’s college transcripts. That’s a f—king moron.
But Ray’s not alone in this…
Anik showed some agreement as well during Longo’s diatribe, and plenty of others in the community have lambasted Covington for dipping so low. UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland even went on the offensive, as noted here:
A notable collection of fighters piled on to also be very critical of Covington’s performance, especially with all the talk that preceded the event. And ultimately, a lot of us in media have had plenty to pick apart from this whole repulsive charade.
In the meantime, Edwards gets the last laugh, Covington goes into hiding, Wonderboy at least had some fun with Tenacious D being live at his fight, and Longo got a heavy load off his shoulders. That’s a wild way to end the year for all parties involved.
Mightiest Daddy 
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