Despite fighting just three times in the past four years, Colby Covington is still one of the biggest personalities in the sport and fans seem to gravitate toward him.
‘Chaos’ has seen his career go from dull and meaningless to being one of the most talked about fighters in the UFC overnight. After his dominant win over Demian Maia in Sao Paulo back in 2017, the brash welterweight unleashed a verbal attack on the people of Brazil and his career seemingly took an upward turn after that moment.
Covington has become more popular than ever after adopting his bad-guy persona but this isn’t a new thing for him. During an interview with ESPN, the All-American wrestler spoke of how his time on the mat helped shape his villainous approach.
“Definitely people wanted to see me lose because, you know, I had that brash style. I wasn’t afraid to push someone’s head in the mat and be mean. You know, I wrestled mean. I was very physical, I got in people’s faces and I let it know it was going to be a dog fight.”
“Everybody wanted to see me lose. Everybody’s hated me, I’ve always been the villain, the bad guy. So, it’s okay, you know. I like playing that role, it’s a lot [more] funner that way.”
“I love the boos. I like people telling me that I can’t do something or doubting me, you know. I think the doubters have always been my fuel for motivation, proving them wrong. Everybody likes to put someone in a box and say what they’re capable of when they have no idea [about] their work ethic. They have no idea [about] the sacrifices they’re making every day to achieve their dreams and goals.”
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Colby Covington then revealed that he was being matched up with Khamzat Chimaev following his one-sided victory over Jorge Masvidal last time out. The plan was to return in June or July before a confrontation outside of the sport prolonged his return to the octagon.
“As soon as I got done with that fight with Jorge in March, I went backstage to Hunter Campbell and I said, ‘Hunter, I want to fight again in June or July. Get me back in there, I need to fight. I’m in my prime right now [and] I want to go capitalize.'”
“They were looking at setting up that fight with that motherf***er Khamzat Chimaev. But he’s unprofessional, he’s a clown. He’s out there laughing when he’s missing weight by 10 pounds. Making a fool of this publicly traded, beautiful company of the UFC. Making a fool laughing, while you’re ruining their main event pay-per-views.”
“He’s not somebody they can trust in that spotlight. And they gave him the easiest fight in the division. A guy, the soy boy, the washed-up Nate Diaz that shouldn’t even be fighting anymore. The guy can’t even talk straight, he’s not even coherent anymore. They gave him the easiest fight to set up to get this big-money fight with Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington. He couldn’t pass the test.”
“So that’s what’s been the delay is, it’s other fighters not agreeing to the fights and not doing business for the UFC… Do you think Hunter Campbell, Dana White would put me in this position to be the UFC welterweight number-one contender if I was turning down fights and sitting out 18-months? No.”
“I accepted every single fight they offered. Khamzat Chimaev, Dustin Poirier, whoever else they had. Doesn’t matter. I said yes, yes, yes. Never said no, [not] one time in my career. So I wouldn’t be in this position if it wasn’t for me always being a yes-man and wanting to be the ultimate company man.”
https://www.mmaweekly.com/news/colby-covington-details-why-fight-against-clown-khamzat-chimaev-didnt-come-to-fruition
