SUNRISE, Fla. – Colby Covington and Luke Rockhold are competitors Saturday at RAF 5, but they worked as a team during a pre-event news conference.
Saturday’s wrestling matches on Fox Nation feature a host of who’s who from the MMA and wrestling worlds, so the promotion decided to rotate athletes at the podium during Friday’s news conference. This was bad news for Bo Nickal, who sat in the audience as he was berated by the two former UFC titleholders.
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“Listen, it’s the type of bozos like this that just kill the sport of wrestling,” Covington said to Nickal, who was seated front row without a microphone. “We need stars. We need people who are willing to be vocal and call their shots.”
“No, that’d be too easy, bro. You’re a bum. You got broken by a Dutch kickboxer. You’re a bum, dude. You’re not even the main event, there’s a reason.”
Rockhold then chimed in with a similar fiery, antagonistic attitude.
“You should be in the top-10 before you talk about a sport that built another sport. The reason that wrestling is on this stage is because of MMA. And you’ve done absolutely nothing in the sport of MMA. You quit before the knee even hit you, Bo. Button it up. Button it up.
Covington inserted a cackle here and there before he dropped a line of, “He’s crying over in the corner.”
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Rockhold continued, “How many world championships have I won? What have you done on a world stage? Absolutely nothing. You’re a college bum, Bo. Shut up.”
Rockhold then challenged Nickal to a hybrid rules fight that would play up to both of their skill sets before the conversation moved on.
Covington and Rockhold will turn their attention to one another during a three-round wrestling match that headlines Saturday’s event at Amerant Bank Arena.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Video: Colby Covington, Luke Rockhold criticize Bo Nickal to his face
