“I got bullied a lot” - Colby Covington explains how his mother influenced him to join UFC

Colby Covington recently attributed his mother's influence as the driving cause behind his successful MMA career.

The former interim UFC welterweight champion started his wrestling journey during adolescence in Oregon, clinching the 165-pound state championship in 2006. During his time at Oregon State University (OSU), he reached the NCAA tournament as a junior and earned the prestigious NCAA Division I All-American honors.

Upon completing his education at OSU, Covington was brought to Florida by American Top Team (ATT) owner Dan Lambert for training in 2011. In less than a year, 'Chaos' transitioned to professional fighting and it took only five bouts before he made his UFC debut in 2014.

During a recent interview with American conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson, Covington delved into the motivations that spurred him to pursue a career in MMA:

"I got bullied a lot. I was like a smaller kid, so they wanted to pick on me and called me out for fights in the park. And I remember, at one point, after fighting at the park, I came home, and my mom's like, 'You'll never fight again, Colby, if you want to fight, go to the UFC and make money to fight'."

He added:

"That's when the bell rang in my head, and I was like, 'Oh, you're right, mom, I should just go make this a living and start fighting for the [UFC]'."

Check out Colby Covington's comments below:

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Colby Covington discusses where he pulls the plug on his trash-talk

Colby Covington's inflammatory remarks concerning Leon Edwards' deceased father have stirred considerable discussion in the MMA community following UFC 296.

Covington, known for his fiery character, took aim at Edwards by making derogatory statements about his late father. This contentious action drew widespread criticism from the MMA community.

During a recent appearance on the PBD Podcast, 'Chaos' outlined the topics he would never touch upon in verbal exchanges and reiterated his lack of regret for the statements:

"You'll definitely get a call at times [from the UFC] if you're racist or you go after someone's religion. But I'd never go after those two things. I'll expose things that need to be exposed because it's the truth and it's honesty."

He added:

"You can look up the public records about his dad. And it's not my fault, he's the one that put him in the limelight in the first place and make it a sympathetic figure."

Check out Colby Covington's comments below (15:20):