Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Three-time UFC title challenger, Colby Covington — who is still ranked No. 6 in the world at 170-pounds, by the way — hasn’t fought much lately. His last appearance was just about a year ago, a lackluster showing against Leon Edwards in December 2023. More to the point, his only victory since 2021 came opposite fading rival Jorge Masvidal, which puts some pressure on Covington to return to action.
A LOT of fighters have called out Covington in the last year. Most notably, UFC has reportedly tried to book “Chaos” opposite Ian Garry on more than one occasion, including the upcoming UFC Tampa card. Instead, “The Future” will face Joaquin Buckley in the main event, whereas Covington continues to languish on the sidelines without a fight booked.
In the interview above with Submission Radio, Covington addresses his absence and explained why he’s been busy away with the cage. According to Covington — who also says he was with Donald Trump on the night of the election — his priority hasn’t been fighting. Instead, it’s been supporting the Trump campaign.
“The most important reason why, everything I do is for God and country. That’s more important than my own selfish agenda to go win UFC fights and be a world champion in the UFC. That doesn’t matter if we don’t have a country to live in. So, the most important thing that’s been in my life the last eight, nine months is the campaign trail, being a little tiny part of the Trump campaign. Trying to help get him elected any way possible. I was traveling with the campaign a lot. I was obviously still getting healthy from my broken foot, but first and foremost is God and country.”
Since Trump won the election (with a little help from Joe Rogan and the Nelk Boys), Covington is now free to resume his career as a UFC fighter. According to “Chaos,” he’ll be back sooner than later.
“… Now I can resume business. I’m excited man, me and [UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell] have sat down and talked about a couple different options. I’m excited to get back in there, first quarter next year, 100% I’m coming back to the UFC Octagon to unleash chaos.”
It’s a lot of devotion to the Commander-in-chief, but sadly, it’s still not enough to be Trump’s favorite UFC fighter.
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— Tetsuya (@TetsuyaMT789) November 5, 2024
Whoever runs Alex Pereira’s social media team deserves a raise. Guy is always making viral clips!
It’s not going to be easy, but there’s something to be said for the idea that avoiding the pocket only plays into Ilia Topuria’s hands. He catches opponents trying to move away from him at the end of his range, where his punches are most powerful!
Diego Lopes describes how a fight between him and Ilia Topuria would look:
“[Ilia] likes to fight at close range. Although I have long arms, I do much better at close range… I think that we’re both going to clash several times, and if he comes forward he’s going to crash into… pic.twitter.com/X2vTtgQIkB
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) November 6, 2024
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— Underrated Combat Sports Tribal Chief (@MMAUnderrated) November 5, 2024
