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Despite being one of the best welterweights in the world, Colby Covington is better known for his brutal trash talk than his fighting skills.
Over the years, however, ‘Chaos’ has arguably gone too far on a number of occasions on the microphone, pushing the envelope even further than other legendary trash talkers like Chael Sonnen and Conor McGregor.
With this in mind, here are five times that Colby Covington’s trash talk went too far.
#5. Colby Covington insults Leon Edwards’ deceased father – 2023
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The latest example of Colby Covington’s trash talk going arguably too far came this week during the build to his upcoming welterweight title bout with Leon Edwards.
‘Chaos’ had been uncharacteristically quiet when it came to insults leading up to this fight, making many fans question whether his approach had finally changed.
However, they were proven wrong when Covington unleashed one of the nastiest, and arguably most tasteless insults of his career towards ‘Rocky’ during the event’s press conference on Thursday.
Dressed as George Washington to attempt to drum up patriotic support against the British titleholder, Covington stunned observers when he told Edwards that he would “bring him to the seventh layer of hell”, before stating “we’ll say ‘what’s up’ to your dad when we’re there”.
For those unaware, Edwards’ father was shot dead in a nightclub when the welterweight champ was just 13 years old.
Unsurprisingly, the usually stoic Edwards instantly lost his head when Covington insulted his father, throwing a water bottle across the stage at him.
In the days that have followed, a number of other UFC stars, including current middleweight champ Sean Strickland, have hit out at Covington.
Whether the insult has its intended outcome – throwing Edwards off his game – will only be revealed tonight, but regardless, it’s definitely arguable that ‘Chaos’ went too far with this one.
#4. Colby Covington unnecessarily bad-mouths Matt Hughes – 2019
When Colby Covington was matched with former welterweight titleholder Robbie Lawler in the summer of 2019, he didn’t aim too many insults at the stonefaced ‘Ruthless’.
However, if fans were surprised by his more quiet approach in the build to the fight, that all changed when ‘Chaos’ got on the mic afterwards.
Clearly not caring a great deal about insulting a fighter who had been retired for years, Covington bizarrely – and in tasteless fashion – decided to hit out at the legendary former welterweight kingpin Matt Hughes.
A former teammate and close friend of Lawler’s, Hughes had been involved in a serious accident in 2017 when his truck was hit by an oncoming train at a rail crossing near his home. The UFC legend was lucky to survive.
Covington, though, decided that two years later, it was fine to poke fun at the incident. In an incendiary rant after his win over Lawler, he stated the following:
“Let’s talk about the lesson we learned tonight. It’s a strong lesson that Robbie (Lawler) should’ve learned from his good buddy Matt Hughes. You stay off the tracks when the train’s coming through, junior! Don’t matter if it’s a Trump train or the Colby train, get outta the way!”
Why Covington felt the need to lash out at a fighter who’d been retired for nearly a decade was a mystery to most, but it was hard to see the insult as anything but tasteless.
#3. Colby Covington gets personal with Polyana Viana – 2021
Unlike most UFC fighters, who tend to aim their trash talk at their upcoming opponents or potential rivals, Colby Covington has often thrown insults towards random members of the promotion’s roster.
This was the case in 2020, when he decided to get personal with strawweight contender Polyana Viana whilst defending himself following accusations that he’d ducked a bout with Leon Edwards.
When it was claimed that Dana White had literally hung the phone up on ‘Chaos’ when he refused to face ‘Rocky’, Covington unsurprisingly lashed out.
He claimed he hadn’t been offered enough money to face Edwards, and stated that he was “busy b*lls deep inside Polyana Viana” when the call for the fight came.
‘Chaos’ later denied a romantic relationship with the Brazilian, but did claim that they’d spent some time together, during which he’d “got to work on his bedroom cardio”.
Unsurprisingly, Viana quickly hit back, labelling Covington’s comments “revolting”, and in this case, it was hard to disagree with her.
#2. Colby Covington insults the entire country of Brazil – 2017
If you believe Colby Covington’s own claims, the UFC were ready to cut him from his contract had he not defeated Demian Maia in the grappler’s home country of Brazil in 2017.
Whether this is true remains debatable, particularly as Covington was actually riding a four-fight win streak coming into the bout, which was positioned as a co-headliner.
However, there’s no disputing that ‘Chaos’ clearly decided that he needed somewhat of an attitude adjustment after the fight.
Channelling Chael Sonnen, who also morphed from being a largely stoic fighter to a trash-talking extrovert, Covington got on the microphone after beating Maia, and proceeded to lash out.
He opened up on the entire country of Brazil, calling it a “dump” and then labelled Brazilian people “filthy animals”.
It was a stunning rant that instantly went viral, and not only turned Covington into a star, but also turned him into Brazil’s most hated fighter.
‘Chaos’ arguably got the best of this situation, as he’s become one of the UFC’s biggest names in the years that have followed, but it’s also hard to deny that he probably went too far. Unsurprisingly, he hasn’t fought in Brazil since.
#1. Colby Covington accused of racism during his feud with Kamaru Usman
There have been numerous examples of UFC fighters edging closely towards outright racism during their trash-talk. However, the insults thrown by the likes of Chael Sonnen and Conor McGregor mostly seemed to be tongue-in-cheek.
The same could not be said for Colby Covington, though, as he clearly pushed the envelope too far during his rivalry with Kamaru Usman, which spanned two fights from 2019 to 2021.
The feud between the two men always seemed based around bad blood, but kicked into overdrive when they squared off in a Las Vegas casino in 2019.
While the two fighters were separated before any real blows were exchanged, ‘Chaos’ claimed that the only reason he didn’t press charges was because he didn’t want Usman “deported back to Nigeria”.
It was a stunning insult from Covington, who had been edging close to xenophobia since embracing a Donald Trump-supporting persona a couple of years prior.
Usman eventually defeated ‘Chaos’ in their first bout at UFC 245, breaking his jaw in the process, but that didn’t stop Covington from once again pushing the verbal war too far before their 2021 rematch.
Following Covington’s win over former titleholder Tyron Woodley, Usman decided to poke fun at the fact that ‘Chaos’ had received a phone call from Trump to congratulate him on his win.
Covington then responded with a seemingly racist tirade, asking Usman if he’d received a call from his “tribe”, asking “did they give some smoke signals for you?”
The insult was truly astonishing, and it was surprising that the stoic Usman was able to keep his cool. In the end, though, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ had the last laugh when he defeated ‘Chaos’ once again.
