"I respect the s*** out of him" - Colby Covington calls for the release of Cain Velasquez following UFC 272 win

Colby Covington has become the latest MMA fighter to offer public support to Cain Velasquez following the latter's recent arrest on multiple charges.

After an impressive win over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272, the Californian expressed his respect for the former UFC heavyweight champion and campaigned to free the veteran fighter. Here's what the 34-year-old said at the post-fight press conference:

"Free Cain, man! A lot of people, what he did, a lot of people wouldn't have done that same thing. I respect the s*** out of him. Having a kid, your kid be molested, we talk about that all the time like we would do that, but he was in that situation, he actually did it. So, free Cain Velasquez! Much respect and love, and I hope he gets out soon."

Watch Colby Covington talk about Cain Velasquez in the video below:

Cain Velasquez is facing a number of charges after an incident in San Jose, California. The former champ was arrested after allegedly shooting at a man who has been accused of molesting one of his family members. However, Covington and many of his colleagues seem to be sympathetic towards Velasquez's actions.

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Colby Covington on why he wants Dustin Poirier next

After a dominating performance over bitter rival Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272, Colby Covington dropped Dustin Poirier's name during his post-fight interview.

'Chaos' later explained his callout of 'The Diamond' while speaking to UFC analyst Laura Sanko:

"[Poirier] said, 'It's on site.' I was never talking about him in the media. He said, 'It's on site' so all I say is, name the site, bring his jezebel of a wife, bring that little kid Parker, you know, Conor's little kid, and let's do this. Pick the site and stop saying we're going to fight in the streets and we're going to jail. I thought he was a family man...Why would you wanna go to jail and risk leaving your family?"

Watch Colby Covington's full interview with Laura Sanko in the video below:

Prior to his recent callout of Dustin Poirer, Covington had already expressed interest in a potential fight with 'The Diamond'.

For the uninitiated, Covington and Poirier trained together at the ATT gym and have been involved in a feud for a few years now. If Poirier finally makes his much-speculated move to 170 lb, the UFC could play host to another grudge match in the future.