Colby Covington has been trying to talk smack to just about everyone in the UFC, and recently, it hasn’t been limited to just fighters. After Joe Rogan warned him about going after Jon Jones, Covington used a similar line and threatened to slap the UFC commentator.

“(UFC 225) is going to be a good one. Colby Covington, don’t slap me. I know you said you’re going to slap me. Don’t slap me. I’m just talking shit,” Rogan said with a laugh during his podcast.

“I like Colby. I like what he’s doing. He’s talking a lot of shit. I’m just saying, be careful who you talk shit to — talking shit to Jon Jones, one of the baddest motherf—kers who has ever lived.”

From insulting the entire country of Brazil, to spoiling popular movies, and even lying about having an orgy with pornstars to sound “cool,” Covington has been trying his best to be as controversial as possible.

While his popularity hasn’t exactly skyrocketed — every single top five welterweight has at least triple his twitter followers — and his schtick hasn’t really gone over well with most MMA fans, the strategy seems to have worked with the UFC as he has been granted an interim title shot.

Rogan also acknowledges this, and says that in a “post-Conor McGregor” world, talking smack is just the smart thing to do.

“The reason why Colby is gonna fight Rafael dos Anjos for the interim title, is not just because he’s beaten good guys — he’s beaten Demian Maia — it’s more because he is putting asses on the seats. It’s part of the business now. Post-Conor McGregor, the game has changed,” Rogan stated.

“Pull up his record,” he said. “He lost to Warlley Alves. Look at the guys he has beaten, Bryan Barbarena is a tough guy, Dong Hyun Kim is a tough guy, and Demian Maia. I’m going to be honest. This is not a resume of someone who you would normally see fighting for the title right now.

“He’s a controversial, very popular character because he talks so much shit — and because he’s talked so much shit about Brazilians. Maia was a big victory, but it was his only big victory — a top level guy, who is also 40-years-old. His best days are behind him, and I say this as a huge Demian Maia fan.”