Colby Covington almost saw his UFC career come to an end, and he knew he had to do something about it.
Going into his co-main event vs. Demian Maia in October 2017 at UFC Fight Night 119, Covington (15-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) was on the final fight of his UFC contract. According to him, the promotion wasn’t too keen on re-signing him.
Speaking on “The Candace Owens Show,” Covington detailed how, despite being 7-1 in the UFC at that point, the promotion didn’t think he was entertaining enough. So Covington felt the pressure of proving them wrong.
After Covington dominated for a unanimous decision victory, he grabbed the mic and took charge of his career with his infamous “filthy animals” rant.
“I think my big break – I’ve never told this story before – but three fights ago before I fought the No. 2 guy in the world, this guy named Demian Maia in Brazil, they had told my manager Dan Lambert that they weren’t going to re-sign me,” Covington said. “They didn’t like my style. They didn’t like that I wasn’t entertaining, and this is before I really started to become an entertainer and understand the entertainment aspect of this business. So before this fight, they told me no matter what happens – I was ranked No. 6 in the world – we’re not re-signing you.
“‘We don’t like your character. We don’t like your fighting style.’ And I’m getting paid $30,000 to go fight the No. 2 guy in the world. Like, after you pay taxes and pay your coaches, you’re really going to get like five or 10 thousand dollars. So I go out there. I beat him up and leave him in a pool of his own blood in Sao Paulo, Brazil, his home city, and I shoot this promo on the Brazilians, and I say, ‘Hey, you guys are all a bunch of filthy animals, and, Brazil, you’re a dump.’”
Just like that, the UFC’s biggest heal was born.
Covington was showered with boos and had anything and everything thrown at him on his way out of the octagon.
“So I go and shoot this promo, and I wasn’t supposed to have my job, but that promo goes so viral on the internet, the UFC’s like, ‘We have to keep him,’” Covington said. “‘We have to re-sign him because that promo was so big,’ so that’s what saved my career, and that was the turning point of my career and the rest has been history.”
After re-signing with the UFC, Covington would go on and challenge for the UFC interim welterweight title vs. former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, and was able to put on another stand-out performance for the win.
Covington never got the opportunity to unify the belts with then 170-pound champ Tyron Woodley and was stripped due to inactivity. He would only enter the cage one year later vs. former UFC welterweight champ Robbie Lawler in August, putting on arguably his best performance and breaking the UFC record for most significant strikes attempted in a fight.
That unanimous decision win would earn Covington a title shot vs. Kamaru Usman in a grudge match that will take place Saturday at UFC 245.
It’s safe to say that Covington’s career has turned around since that night in Brazil.
How Colby Covington's infamous 'filthy animals' speech in Brazil saved his UFC career