From former UFC champ Jon Jones to contender Kelvin Gastelum, UFC fighters are feeling all types of way about the recent altercation between Fabricio Werdum and Colby Covington.

As someone who’s both a part of Covington’s past and interested in his future, UFC welterweight Warlley Alves didn’t sit this one out, either.

Alves faced Covington in December 2015. The Brazilian went into the UFC 194 encounter unbeaten and stayed that way after finishing Covington with his signature guillotine choke in the first round. It was Covington’s first and, to this day, only career loss.

On Thursday, Alves (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC), who’d already been eyeing a rematch with Covington (13-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC), heard about happened in Sydney. And not only did he not take issue with Werdum’s (22-7-1 MMA, 10-4 UFC) alleged boomerang-throwing, he actually had a special request for his fellow countryman.

“I didn’t think it was a big deal,” Alves told MMAjunkie. “Actually, I know the whole story. What happened was Colby kicked him. Werdum defended it. And people stepped in to separate them. Colby was mocking him and Werdum, who’s no push-over, threw the boomerang.

“I’ll make a request here: Werdum, please don’t hit him. Leave him for me. Or better yet, you can hit him, just don’t hurt him. Because I want to beat him up.”

Of course, it’s usually the fighter who got beat that asks for a rematch. But Alves’ interest, he says, has been sparked by something much bigger than their history: It’s about country.

Covington infamously incited the ire of Brazil last month, when he flew down to Sao Paulo for a UFC Fight Night 119 meeting with two-time UFC title challenger Demian Maia. While Covington’s jabs toward the country had been present all week, it came to a boiling point after he beat Maia – thanks to a post-fight speech that involved calling Brazilians “filthy animals.”

Covington has remained unapologetic – at least toward Brazilians – and, once more, brought up this rhetoric against Werdum. That – and the use of an anti-gay slur – is why some of his peers, despite the fact that the available images show Werdum as the one who turned things physical, aren’t showing Covington much sympathy.

Alves, who had just returned from his honeymoon when he was alerted to Covington’s post-fight speech in Sao Paulo, has had that stuck in his throat since.

“I’m an extremely patriotic person,” Alves sad. “People around me know how devoted I am to my faith and to my country. People who follow me on Instagram know how much I love the Brazilian flag and how much I value it.

“Then this coward, this chicken, this idiot comes in and says my people are animals. That Brazil is a place of filthy people? I already wanted to beat him up again, because he’s too full of himself, but now I really want to beat him up.”

Alves clarified that his intention is in no way to make this an issue of Brazil vs. U.S., as his problem is not with an entire nation: it’s personal. Alves was so peeved by Covington’s remarks, he says, that he tried to get in touch through different types of media – including the phone.

The fact that Covington hung up and never replied to his Instagram message, for Alves that can mean only one thing.

“He’s running from me,” Alves said. “I called him, and he picked up. We started talking and, when he realized it was me, he hung up. He’s a coward, a chicken. He comes in here, speaks poorly of my country.

“He attacks my people from under his bed, which is where he is at when he’s making his posts talking about our people. He does that from under his bed, because he knows that if we run into each other anywhere, I’m going to get him.”

While Covington has said he’d take the chance to correct the “fluke” loss to Alves, he’s been aiming higher up the welterweight ladder lately. More specifically, he’s been saving most of his verbal ammunition for champion Tyron Woodley.

Since their meeting, Alves and Covington have gone on much different paths. Covington beat four opponents in a row en route to his co-headliner against Maia, while Alves has just recently bounced back from a two-fight losing skid.

Still, Alves said this is not about where they two stand in the welterweight rankings.

“I’m not doing this to promote myself,” Alves said. “Even if I beat him up, which I will do, I can stay in the same place in the rankings.”

Ultimately, Alves believes there are more worthy contenders in line for Woodley’s belt than Covington. And, of course, he’d like to get his stab at the controversial welterweight first. But, even if Covington does end up landing his title shot, Alves doesn’t mind waiting.

“He can fight for the belt. He can do whatever he wants,” Alves said. “But when we meet, I’ll get my hands on him. He’ll regret having said anything about my country. He’ll never say anything about anyone’s nation again. Because I’ll beat him up, and he’ll apologize.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.