"Fu*k cancel culture" - When Colby Covington backed Joe Rogan and championed his return during racial controversy

Colby Covington once spoke up in defense of Joe Rogan after the latter became the subject of tremendous controversy back in early 2022. During this time, American R&B singer India Arie shared a JRE compilation in which Rogan can be seen and heard using a racial slur - the n-word.

The aforementioned slur was once used negatively in reference to black Americans. Despite using the the word in a non-racist context, Rogan faced tremendous backlash and ultimately apologized for his past behavior. He took a brief leave of absence from UFC commentating before returning at UFC 272.

UFC 272 featured 'Chaos' taking on Jorge Masvidal in a heated grudge match in the main event, and during the ceremonial weigh-ins, Covington offered Rogan his support before taking aim at cancel culture.

Covington said:

"Whoa, whoa, whoa Joe Rogan. Before we start talking about the future, let's talk about the present. It's so great to have you back Joe Rogan. We love you at the UFC, we miss you. Fu*k cancel culture!"

Check out Colby Covington lambasting cancel culture (22:35):

Covington ended up winning the UFC 272 bout against Masvidal, outworking him en route to a unanimous decision win. Meanwhile, Rogan was welcomed back with open arms as the promotion's most tenured commentator. Now, two years later, Covington is set to headline another event, UFC on ESPN 63.

He will be after his first win since the aforementioned UFC 272 bout with Masvidal. Only this time, he won't be facing someone on a two-fight losing streak on the wrong side of time. Instead, he will take on the powerful Joaquin Buckley, who is riding a wave of momentum and is currently on a five-fight win streak.

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Colby Covington wasn't the only UFC fighter to come out in support of Joe Rogan

At the UFC 271 pre-fight press conference, then-middleweight champion Israel Adesanya intercepted a question meant for Dana White about Joe Rogan. 'The Last Stylebender' dismissed the controversy surrounding Rogan, saying:

"First off, let me take this one. Hold up, I'm black. I can take this one. Look, there's a lot of c*nts in this game. There's a lot of snakes in this game. I've been in this fight game since 2018, and Joe Rogan is one of the nicest, coolest, humble motherfu*kers I've had the pleasure of working with."

Check out Adesanya defending Rogan (8:28):

Thereafter, the controversy surrounding Rogan died down and hasn't resurfaced since.