Colby Covington, the former interim welterweight champion, was unsuccessful in his third attempt at undisputed gold at UFC 296. Much to the dismay of fans and critics, Covington had a disappointing performance in the loss to Leon Edwards at the T-Mobile Arena.
Covington was a recent guest on the Tucker Carlson show after the disappointing loss at UFC 296. The half-hour interview took the audience into the past, present, and future of Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington. The welterweight also shared an interesting story of his childhood in the interview.
What advice did Colby Covington receive from his mother?
Colby Covington, the fifth-ranked UFC welterweight, began wrestling at a very young age. His prowess in wrestling got him a scholarship at the University of Iowa, where he got suspended due to drunken driving. He would then transfer to the University of Oregon, where he became a Division I All-American.
In the interview with Tucker Carlson, Covington had an interesting thing to say about how he decided to fight in the UFC. “I got bullied a lot. I was a smaller kid, and I wrestled, so everybody always wanted to pick on me and call me out in fights. They were like, “Let’s fight in the park.”, said Covington of the trials and tribulations he had to face from bullies due to his then small stature.
Colby Covington says his mom told him to join the UFC after a fight at school pic.twitter.com/6c53TwsH9R
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) December 28, 2023
“Then, I remember I got in one park fight, and I came home, and my mom said, “You’re never fighting again, Kobe. If you want to fight, go to the UFC and make money to fight.”, Covington further said of what his mother told when he returned home from a street fight.
“That’s when the bell rang in my head, and I was like, “Oh, you’re right, Mom. I should just go make this a living and start fighting.”, Colby Covington said of the moment he thought of joining the UFC. Apparently, it was his mother’s unknowing suggestion that made him think of fighting in MMA.
Colby Covington’s rise in UFC
Colby Covington is known as the brash, outspoken Donald Trump supporter. However, that was not the case before his fight with Brazilian legend Demian Maia. The fight with Maia was a turning point in the professional MMA career of Covington because the UFC was planning to not sign Covington for his apparent lack of fan interest in his wrestling-heavy fight style.
Covington turned heel in the Octagon interview after he defeated Maia dominantly. His tirade against Brazilian people in Brazil even resulted in death threats for the American welterweight. His heel persona was further exaggerated with his outspoken support of Donald Trump, who was the President of the USA at the time.
After almost being cut, Colby Covington got an interim title shot in his next fight against Rafael Dos Anjos, a former lightweight champion. He would go on to win the fight via unanimous decision. This fight was followed by a fight with former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler, a fight he dominated from start to finish.
Covington would then fight for the undisputed welterweight title against his eternal rival Kamaru Usman at UFC 245, losing via TKO in round 5 in a closely contested fight. He would again fight for the title against Usman at UFC 268 after a TKO victory over former welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley. In the second fight against Usman, he lost via unanimous decision that was again a close encounter.
Covington would then fight the BMF champion Jorge Masvidal in a PPV headliner at UFC 272. Masvidal and Covington were former training partners at American Top Team before Covington’s infamous split with the MMA super gym. Colby Covington dominated Masvidal and fought for a third time for the undisputed title; again unsuccessful, this time against Leon Edwards.
Do you think the UFC will give a fourth crack at the title for Colby Covington? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
